Things Aren't Always What They Seem
by jess2002
Summary: Once you join or marry into the Mafia, it's for life. That was something I didn't know. If I did, I never would have put my family in such a situation. mobward! r&r
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone! This is my new story and this is my solo story! I hope everyone enjoys it! Thanks to my awesome group of girls who help me with everything! Siobhan, Teamalltwilight, and toocute24, thanks you for everything!

I also I have to say thank you to everyone for all the support from yesterday! Every single one of you that reported my story stolen thank you so much! Lets just hope this doesn't happen again!

I own nothing but the plot proudly!

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><p>Once you join or marry into the mafia, it's for life. That was something I didn't know. If I did, I never would have put my family in such a situation. Mike would be rolling over in his grave if he knew the choices I've made without having all the information. My name is Isabella Marie Cullen, and this is my story.<p>

In 2007, my life was turned upside down when I lost my husband to brain cancer. He was diagnosed two months before we found out I was pregnant with our third child. Mike died when I was seven months along. The stress of his death and having two other children to care for, put me into early labor. Rachel was born a month premature. I knew Mike was watching over me when there were no complications. He had named our daughter while on his death bed. I knew at that moment that I'd never find another love, despite the fact that he gave me his blessing to find someone to spend the rest of my life with. All he asked, was that our children were never mistreated and they kept the Newton name. He knew I would never let anyone mistreat our children or change their identity.

I married Mike the summer we graduated from high school, and gave birth to our first son, Mikey, the following spring. Two years later, Jacob was born, and my plate was overflowing. In 2007, little miss Rachel was born. I was sad Mike couldn't be with me; I hated him for leaving this world, for leaving me. I knew he never would've left if he had a choice, but it still hurt like hell. I would lay in bed at night and cry; I missed him so much.

Mike was the only person I had ever trusted. I had major trust issues growing up, all stemming from my parents, who never had a stable relationship. My mother and I moved from Forks, Washington, to Phoenix, Arizona seven times during my childhood and adolescence. My mother's family was from Phoenix, and whenever my parents fought, we left my dad. Every time she wanted to come back, my father would welcome her with open arms. I lost all respect for my mother because she would always ran away from her problems, and my father for letting her walk all over him. I only saw my parents once a year after I moved out, and that was always at Christmas. They were crappy parents, but they were very good to my kids. My mother wanted to move in with me after Mike died, but there was no way in hell I would've let that happen. I will say, however, that my mother helped me heal. I knew I was the only one that my kids had left, and I planned to give them the best life I could.

Since I had such trust issues, I never wanted to put my children in the care of someone else. Mike always thought of the what if's, and he had set up a life insurance policy when he started working. When he passed away, I was awarded his fifty thousand dollar policy. After paying for all his arrangements, I was left with about forty grand, and I knew I had enough money to get by until I could find a job. I was always the homemaker, staying home to raise my children and care for my family. I became friends with my neighbor Tori after Mikes death. She was a lifesaver. Tori needed a sitter for her son Seth. That was when I decided to become a certified care giver. Tori's former sitter was charging her over two hundred dollars a week, despite the fact that he was nine years old and in school most of the time. She was a friend, so I only charged her a hundred a week.

Paul and Leah were friends of Mike. They had a one year old daughter named Lilli. I really couldn't stand the parents, they reminded me of my own, but I loved Lilli. I'm pretty sure Leah went through her contact list and asked everyone she knew to watch Lilli. I was going to say no, but she said she would pay two hundred a week, and I wasn't in a position to turn down any kind of money.

Then there was Alice Whitlock. I took care of her three year old son, Cash. She heard about me from Tori, having gone to high school together. That woman scared the shit out of me. She had more money than any one person needed, and when she said her last name, she said it as a threat. I didn't know if she had a hard life growing up, but I was pretty sure she could kick my ass. I really couldn't stand the woman, but when she said three hundred a week, I started to like her more. Her kid was a brat, and could make me cry if he tried hard enough. He was a spoiled rotten kid, who was never told no or punished for anything. I had even watched him hit his mother in the face once. I'd never met Cash's father, but I really don't think any father would allow their child to hit their mother. Cash was good for me, though. He and Rachel got along really well, but he definitely wasn't Jake's favorite person. The two of them gave me a headache constantly. It was the happiest day of my life when Jake started school. For the most part Rachel, Lilli, and Cash all got along. I think Cash liked being the only boy. Rach liked to play baby house and Cash was always the daddy. I figured his parents let him watch any kind of movie he wanted, because he get one of the boys' toy guns and stuck it in the waist of his pants. When I asked what he was doing, he told me he had to protect the ones he loved. I laughed; he was such a boy.

I knew I wasn't the greatest mother, but I did the best I could. I believed in spanking my kids when they needed it, and they knew so. I had good kids for the most part. They were respectful, grateful, and had very good manners. I was with my kids almost all the time. Tori would watch them if I had to go to the store or something, but that was it. I couldn't even remember the last time I had gone out without kids. I should have moved back to Forks after Miked passed, but that was too close to my parents. I stayed in our house in the suburbs of Seattle instead. The kids went to a great school, and I'd made a good life for the four of us. If they were good, I took them out to eat every Friday. Sometimes, I just wanted to get out of the house, so we would still go even if they hadn't behaved. As punishment, I would make the bad kids sit at the table while the other played in the play area.

On a Thursday afternoon, Alice called to tell me her brother was going to be picking Cash up. She said he was a tall, good looking man, and to ask to see his ID before I let him in the house. Sometimes she would ask me to do the strangest things. I was glad Cash was being picked up at a decent hour, though. There were times when I would have him until eight o'clock at night. Lilli and Seth always left between three and four. Just as Paul was leaving with Lilli, a charcoal gray car pulled into my driveway. A man jumped out looking extremely pissed off. In all honesty, he scared the shit out of me. I figured then that it was Alice's brother. I watched through the window as he walked up to the front door, and pounded on it.

"Who is it?" I yelled through the door.

"Edward Cullen, I'm Alice's brother," he said.

"I need to see ID." I heard him grumble under his breath as I cracked the door open. He handed me his license and I was shocked to see an extremely hot man in the picture. I looked up at his face and back to the picture. He was the hottest guy I think I'd ever seen in my life. His eye color had to be fake. They were green! Like an emerald green. Like I said, they had to be fake. He had perfect teeth and a gorgeous smile. His lips were kissable and his jaw screamed for me to bite him. He was the first man, since Mike, that I thought of in a sexual way.

"May I come in?" he asked in a softer voice.

"Oh! Um," I stuttered, looking at the name on the license. Yup, he was definitely Edward Cullen. "Yes." I moved out of the way of the door and thanked god I had put a bra on that morning. There were days where I didn't get dressed at all. If I didn't leave the house, there was no sense in putting on clean clothes, right? "Cash, your Uncle is here," I yell toward the living room.

"Was the little fucker good for you?" Edward asked.

"Yeah, today was a good day," I said with a smile.

"Good, I don't know how you watch the brat. You must be a strong woman." Was he flirting with me?

"I don't think strong is the right word. Now, if you would've said crazy, I'd have agreed," I said as we laughed.

"Mommy, Mikey hit me," Jake said crying.

"He did! Popped him in the arm," Cash said as he ran to his uncle. Edward picked him up and Cash hugged him tightly.

"I'll be right back," I said as I told Jake to sit on the couch. I walked into the boy's room and found Mikey playing the X-box. I should've known that was the source of the fight.

"Jesus fucking Christ!" I said, making Mikey jumped.

"What? He turned it off in the middle of my game," he said, trying to defend his actions. Without saying a word I pulled the plugs out of the back of the box and grounded them both for the weekend. "Mom! You could have broken it again!"

"I really don't care! I'm sick of the two of you fighting over that fucking game! Go sit in the living room away from your brother," I said in a stern voice. I walked back to the kitchen and thew the cords on top of the fridge. "I'm sorry, I'll get his things." When I got to the living room, I grabbed the little bag that Alice always brought.

"You have to shit or anything before we leave?" Edward asked.

"Yup," Cash said as as he hurried to the bathroom.

"So, you married?" Edward asked as I laughed.

"No," I said still laughing. I was pretty sure he was trying to pick me up.

"RA GET OUT OF THE BATHROOM!" I heard Cash yell. I ran to the hallway bathroom and scooped up my little girl.

"I just wanna play," she said crossing her arms.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to walk in on people going potty. Besides, Cash is leaving in just a minute," I told her.

"But, he's my best friend. Oh wow! You're pretty," Rach said to Edward. Great, my three year old was a better flirt than me.

"Hi, little lady. You are just as beautiful as your mom," Edward said. If I was one to blush, I would've been beat read. "What's your name, Princess?"

"Rachel Marie Newton," she said with a big smile.

"Perfect name for a perfect girl," Edward said, kissing her hand.

"Go sit and watch TV," I said, setting her down. She waved her little hand bye to Edward, and then skipped her way to the living room.

"Go out with me tomorrow night."

"Excuse me?" I asked, thinking I must have heard him wrong.

"Tomorrow night, you and I should go out to dinner together," he said. He gave me a smile that probably got him whatever he wanted.

"No thanks," I said as Cash came out holding up his pants. I bent down to help him while Edward kept talking.

"Are you going to give me a reason why you can't?"

"I don't want to," I said as he laughed.

"You don't want to go on a date with me?"

"No, not really."

"Why?"

"I don't date."

"Bullshit," he said as I stood back up.

"I have dated one guy in my whole life, and that was my late husband, Mike. I really don't have any interest in starting a relationship with anyone," I said as he stared at me.

"He's dead?"

"Yeah."

"When did he die?"

"Three years ago. Why is that any of your business?" I asked getting mad, more at myself than anything. I had no idea why was I talking so candidly to this man.

"You haven't been with anyone in three years? That's kinda sad. You're hot," he said as I glared at him.

"It was nice to meet you. Cash, I'll see you tomorrow," I said as I opened the front door.

"Go out with me," he said one more time.

"No. Even if I was one of the many girls to fall to your feet and say yes, I still wouldn't have a sitter," I told him as he smirked.

"Fair enough. What are you going to do tomorrow night for dinner?" he asked as I rolled my eyes.

"I take my kids out to dinner every Friday," I said as he smiled at me.

"Where?"

"See you later, Edward," I said as he moved to the door.

"Bye kids! Be good for your mom. I'll see you tomorrow at dinner," he said as I glared at him.

"You're going to Good Burger with us?"

"Jacob!" I said. The poor kid looked so confused.

"Yay! My Edward is going to dinner with us!" Rachel said as she squealed.

"What time?" he asked, loud enough so that the kids could hear him.

"You need to leave," I said. When Edward was laughing and being all playful like that, it was hard to stay mad at him.

"Five three zero!" Cash said, jumping up and down. I pushed the door closed and leaned against it.

"I'll see you tomorrow at five thirty, Bella," he said through the door. His voice gave me cold chills. I was kind of...excited?

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><p>Okay, you have now met Bella and Edward, what do you think of them? Please remember that this story is not going to always be playful and happy all the time. This may go a little slow at first, but it is all needed. I will put up a warning of sorts when things start to change.<p>

I have a twitter, blogspot, and facebook. The links are on my profile. Teaser are done on my facebook!


	2. Chapter 2

The response to this story is phenomenal! Thank you all for the reviews! Thank you toocute24 for being the best beta in the world, and of course I have two of the best pre readers! Siobhan and teamalltwilight I love you both and I'm happy to call you all my friends! Not much to say so I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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><p>EPOV<p>

"Ma!" I yelled when I arrived at her house with Cash.

"In here dear," I heard her say from the living room.

"Is Alice here?"

"I'm right here loser. You find a wife yet?" she asked.

"I think so! Now all I have to do is woo her and get her to marry me within the next seven months," I said with a smile.

"Are you for real?" Mom and Alice said at the same time.

"Yeah," I said with a laugh. Bella was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life. I wanted her like I have never wanted anything.

"Bella, mommy," Cash said with a big smile.

"Bella what?" she asked her son.

"Uncle loves Bella!" he said, clapping his hands excitedly.

"Edward, she will never go for our lifestyle," Alice said.

"I'm not really worried about that. All I have to do is get her to fall in love with me," I said with a shrug. "The other stuff will fall in place when we come to it."

"I let Bella babysit my pride in joy because I know he is safe with her. She will never let her kids around you once she finds out who you are," Alice said.

"She is perfect for me. I'm going out to dinner with her tomorrow night," I said as Alice laughed. "What's so funny?"

"Now I know you're lying. Bella doesn't date, and the only time she doesn't have her kids with her, is when her neighbor is home and takes them for an hour so she can go to the store. She has no family here and she won't leave them with just anyone. I also know for a fact that Tori won't keep the kids for hours. She isn't even over her husband yet; she still wears her rings," Alice said.

"Tori is her neighbor?" my mother asked.

"Yeah. They became close when Bella's husband died. Bella needed help and Tori was there. Tori said Bella was destroyed when Mike died. I don't think Bella will allow herself love again," Alice said. She was really making me think twice.

"Well, Rachel loves me, so I think I have a chance with her," I said.

"Good luck," Alice said with an eye roll.

"I've met Bella a couple times, and I think she would be great for you. I don't mind babysitting," my mom said as my smile grew. "That is if you can get her to say yes." Of course my mom and sister laughed.

"I'll talk to her tomorrow. I'm meeting her at five thirty," I said as Alice's eyes grew big.

"She really invited you to go?"

"Yes. Well...kind of."

"Ha, I knew it!" Alice said.

"She can't get to know me if she refuses to talk to me. I know if we can get to know each other a little, she'll go out with me," I said.

"Like I said, good luck," Alice said with a glare.

"Do you even like Bella?" my mother asked her.

"She's amazing! I would love to be friends with her, but you know I don't bring people into this life. Leave her alone," Alice said to me.

"Wish I could, but I can't."

"She'll leave you when she finds out."

"We both know that can't happen."

"So you are going to trap her?"

"I'm doing what I have to. I have seven months to get married," I said with a shrug.

"She will end up hating you."

"Then so be it."

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><p>BPOV<p>

Alice was going to pick up Cash at five, and then the kids and I would be on our way to dinner. For some reason I was giddy. I had a feeling that Edward had something to do with that. I hated that I couldn't get him off my mind. I even had myself trying to figure out how to go out on a date with him. I knew my parents always wanted the kids to come visit for a weekend, and I was honestly thinking about calling them to see if they wanted to keep them for a few days. Rachel seemed to really like him, so he had to be a good guy. Kids always had the best instincts when it came to reading people.

The kids were sitting in the living room watching a movie while I took a quick shower. When I was done, I checked on them to make sure they were all still behaving themselves. I had no idea why I was going through the trouble of making myself up, but I was a pretty excited about getting to know Edward. If he wasn't so hot, I knew I wouldn't have any interest, but I hadn't had sex in three years! I was long over due. No one said I had to marry the guy; I really didn't think I could ever love another man, anyway. I put on a pair of tight jeans, and a tight v-neck shirt. I even put on my good bra that pushed my boobs up. I shook my head at myself as I applied makeup to my face. I very rarely wore makeup. As I brushed through my hair, I walked out to the living room.

"Mom! You look so pretty!" Mikey said with a big smile.

"Thanks, love," I said with a huge smile of my own. I felt pretty. When the doorbell rang a moment later, I jumped. I must've lost track of the time. I opened the door to see Alice standing there.

"You look amazing," she said with a huge smile. "This little get up isn't for my brother is it?"

"I have no clue what I'm doing," I said with a laugh.

"Well, I have to be honest and say that I'm glad to see that you own something other than sweats," she said as we laughed. "He's going to be there tonight."

"Do you and Cash wanna go?" I had no idea why I asked her join us.

"Edward would kill me if I did, but thanks for the invite. He asked me about you yesterday. I told him you were too good for him," she said as I laughed.

"That's very sweet of you," I said with a smile.

"Just remember that things aren't always what they seem," she said as I stared at her.

"Should I stay away from him?"

"Yes."

"Wow! That is not what I thought you were going to say."

"He is an amazing guy, but he has a temper."

"So, you are saying he would hit me or my kids?"

"No! Well, not the kids. He's a spoiled brat and he always gets what he wants. He wants to marry you." I didn't mean to laugh at her, but that was just insane. He didn't even know me. "I'm serious. His exact words were: 'I'm going to marry her.'"

"Wow, he's so sure of himself."

"He may be different with you. I've never seen him get excited about a woman before. You would be the first." That made me smile. "Anyway, I have to get going. I have to meet Jasper at six," she said as we scooped up Cash and headed out the door. I figured Jasper must be her husband since that was the most she had ever spoken to me before.

Sure enough, Edward was waiting in his car at Good Burger. The only reason I went to Good Burger was for the kid play area. It always felt good to have a few minutes to myself. Before the kids were unbuckled, Edward was standing by my car.

"Hey," I said to him as I held Rachel's and Jacob's hand. Mikey always held Rach's other hand.

"You're so skinny!" Edward said as he stared at me.

"Thanks?" I asked. He sounded so shocked.

"I'm sorry. I just didn't realize it yesterday. You look great," he said with a smile.

"Thanks, let's go get something to eat," I said as pulled the kids toward the door. We all ordered the same thing every time we went somewhere, so I rattled off the order quickly.

"Is that all?" the bored looking teenager said.

"Edward, what do you want?" I asked as I started to fish out my wallet.

"Mom, we're going to go play," Mikey informed me as he held Rachel's and Jake's hands. I gave him a quick yeah as I found my wallet. I really needed to clean out my purse.

"Thirty-two even," the girl said. I grabbed two twenties, but before I could give the girl my money, Edward stopped me.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Paying for dinner."

"Don't insult me," he said as he took out his wallet. "A woman never pays."

"I pay every Friday," I said glaring at him. Every time I tried to take my hand back, his grip would grow tighter. He payed with a fifty and then let go of my hand.

"Well, I'm here now. You won't ever have to pay for another thing," he said with a smile.

"Must be nice," the teenager said.

"Don't you have drinks to get or something?" I asked her as she rolled her eyes at me. I didn't like that Edward was so pushy. "I wouldn't have minded paying."

"I understand," he said with a smile. "Are the kids okay?"

"Yeah," I said as I glanced over at the play area. I saw Rachel with a big smile on her face as she went down the slide.

"Go sit and I'll grab the food," he said.

"Sure, I'll get napkins and straws. Oh, and please ask for lots of ketchup."

"Got it," he said. I was going to try to give him the benefit of the doubt.

If all else failed and things didn't work out with him, I was hoping for a couple good orgasms at least. I bet he'd be good in bed. He had the perfect amount of muscle on his gorgeous body. I found a table big enough for all of us and sat so I could watch the kids. They were all so carefree. As I sat and watched them, I felt sad that Mike would never be able get to know them. I was even more disheartened that the kids would never get to meet their dad. Mikey was almost four when Mike died, so I hoped that he would have at least one memory of him. I knew Jacob and Rachel wouldn't remember him at all, but I always talked about him to them. I felt guilty knowing I was having dinner with another man. I knew Mike wouldn't be upset, but I still felt like I was doing something wrong. It had been three years, it was time to move on right?

"Here's the food," Edward said, setting the tray down. I stood and set up a place for each of the kids. I thought it was sweet when Edward started opening the ketchup packets.

"Thanks for dinner," I said as I sat down.

"No problem," he said eating his fries. "So, if you like me by the end of dinner will you go to a real dinner with me?"

"I don't trust people with my kids. It's hard for me to find a sitter," I told him.

"My mom said that she would love to babysit."

"Esme?"

"Yup."

"I love Esme!" Mickey said sitting next to Edward. "She makes awesome cupcakes."

"I want cupycakes," Rach said, climbing up next to me.

"See! They can hangout with her and make cupcakes," Edward said with an all-knowing smile.

"We'll see."

"I get what I want," he said staring at me.

"So I've heard," I said with a laugh.

"Alice?" All I did was smile at him.

As dinner went on, I found myself really starting to like Edward. He was so sweet, and he was amazing with the kids. All three of them seemed to really take to him, too, which was a good thing. I also found that I was wanting to go out alone with him. We stayed at Good Burger for a few hours. We usually just ate and left, but I was enjoying Edward's company. He told me that he was a business owner and made a good living for himself. He was thirty-four, and he really wanted to settle down. He was the sort of person I needed... at least, I thought so. He said he really didn't want any kids, and I told him that was fine since I didn't want anymore children either. I had to laugh when he told me that he still lived with his parents, but I did understand his reasoning. He said that if he was to buy a house, he would want it to be the only house he ever purchased. That and he would want his girl to pick it out with him. I was joking when I said that I already had a house, but I think he took that as, 'you can just live with me'.

"Thanks for tonight. It was nice to have some adult conversation," I said as the kids buckled themselves up.

"I don't think I've ever had a more enjoyable date," he said holding my hand. "I would really like to take you out."

"I'd really like that too," I said as he gave me a crooked smile. "My parents are always wanting the kids to stay for the weekend, so I'll call them and see if they would like to keep them. Nothing against Esme, I'd just feel better if my parents kept them."

"I understand," he said as he ran his thumb over the back of my hand. "I'll call you later."

"Aren't you going to ask for my number?"

"Already have it."

"Alice?"

"Yup," he said as we laughed. "It's okay to move on. I can see it in your eyes that you want to. Don't hold back with me."

"Mike is the only man I have ever been with. I don't know if I can just move on," I told him honestly as he touched my check.

"I'll help you, if you let me. I really like you Bella, and your kids are awesome. I can see myself falling in love with all of you," he said as I smiled. He was almost too good to be true.

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><p>Let me know what you think! Teasers are on Sundays or Mondays on my facebook group. The link is on my profile. I will be posting this story every Tuesday! I have up to chapter 18 done! So there really isn't a chance that I will miss a week!<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Here is another chapter! Thank you all so much for the reviews. There has been come question to Edward hitting on Bella: with what I have written he has not hit her and he won't. I was going to make Edward this huge dick, but I changed my mine. So yeah, Edward will not hit Bella.

Huge thanks goes out to toocute24, teamalltwilight, and siobhan. They are the best group of women to work with and I am so happy to have them as my team. I know I would be lost without them, and my stories wouldn't be half a great!

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><p>"Hello?" I heard my father's scratchy voice say.<p>

"Were you sleeping?" I asked. I looked at the clock and it was only eight p.m.

"No, I was just in my chair," he said as I heard him call for my mother. There was a shuffling noise and I was sure he was putting me on speakerphone.

"Hey, sweetie. How's everything going?" my mom asked.

"Yeah, everything's good," I said, not sure about how to continue.

"What's going on, Bells? I know you didn't call just to hear us breathe," my dad said, making me laugh.

"Mike's been gone for three years," I said as if they didn't know.

"He has. Time sure does fly," my mom said.

"Do you think...what would people think...has it been long enough?" I asked.

"Long enough for what?" Charlie asked.

"Yes sweetie, it has," Renee said, making me smile. "What's his name?"

"Edward. It's nothing serious, he just asked me to dinner," I said as I tried to wipe the stupid smile off my face.

"Well, I think that's great," Charlie said, surprising me. I really didn't think he would be all for it.

"Okay, um… I was wondering if you wanted to keep the kids for the weekend. You've asked a few times, and I didn't know if the offer still stood or not," I said, letting out a nervous breath.

"That would be amazing! I could take the boys fishing!" Dad said, getting excited.

"Ra and I could go shopping," mom said, making me smile more. "We'll ride out and pick them up on Friday, if you can come out and get them on Sunday."

"I can do that," I said, feeling happy.

"Bella, have you taken your rings off yet?" Renee asked.

"No," I said, turning my wedding ring set around my finger. "I don't know if I can."

"It's all part of moving on," Charlie said as I started to cry. "Please don't cry."

"I'm sorry. I just feel so happy and guilty at the same time," I said as I sniffled.

"There is nothing to feel guilty over. Take them off your finger and wear them around your neck if you need to, but I think if you are going to date, they need to come off," Renee said. She had never sounded so motherly in my entire life.

"It's just dinner. He went out with me and the kids yesterday. They love him. He's so good with all three of them. I babysit his nephew, Cash; that's how we met. He picked Cash up for his mom the other day. It was nice to have someone to talk to," I said with a sigh.

"You're going to be fine kid," my dad said.

"I know, but the whole dating thing is intimidating. It was always so easy with Mike."

"Edward isn't Mike," Renee said. I hated when she was right.

"Are you comfortable with him being involved with the kids so soon?" Charlie asked.

"I told him I didn't want to date him. Rach and Jake told him about how we go to Good Burger every Friday. He showed up and called it our first date," I said with a laugh.

"That's so sweet!" Mom said.

I never really talked to my parents about my relationship, but I felt better once I had spoken to them. I never really thought they would understand, but they did, and I felt like I could finally move on. That night I laid in bed and stared at my ring.

"Mike, give me a sign that this is the right thing for me," I said as I took my rings off. I held on to them for a long while, and then set them on the night stand. "I love you, Mike." My cell phone went off telling me I had a text. It was from Edward, and I took that as a sign from Mike.

_I just wanted to say goodnight, beautiful, _the text read. I smiled; that was all I seemed to be doing lately. _You too, _was my stupid response.

_Why are you still up? E_

_Can't sleep~B_

_Can I call you? I really hate texting. E_

He didn't even give me time to answer before my phone was ringing.

"Hey," I said with a laugh.

"You don't mind that I called, do you?"

"No, it's fine," I said, still smiling. "How was your day?"

"Long, busy, the usual," he said with a sigh. "How 'bout you?"

"Ugh, Ra got herself in trouble for biting Jake. She got him good, too. He has a bruise on his arm. Mikey said Jake didn't do anything, so I had to punish her," I said with a yawn.

"How did you punish her?"

"I bit her back and then put her in time out," I said as he chuckled.

"You bit her? Isn't that teaching her to bite?"

"No. She said it really hurt and she wasn't going to do it anymore. I try to be fair. If they do something to their sibling, then I do it to them," I said as he chuckled again.

"You're a good mom."

"Thanks. I just don't want my kids to be the kids that everyone cringes at when we walk up to the door, ya know?" I asked.

"I agree. That's the way I feel when Cash is around. I just wanna grab a hold of that little fucker and beat his ass. I hate it when he hits Alice. She just holds his hands and says something like, 'that's not nice.' I can't stand it," he said as I chuckled at him.

"You seem to be close with him, though."

"I am. He's a cool kid when his parents aren't around," he said. I did understand that. "So, have you talked to your parents at all?"

"I have. I talked to them earlier," I said without adding anything else.

"And?"

"They're coming to pick the kids up on Friday, and then I'm going to get them on Sunday," I told him.

"That is fucking awesome! I get you for the whole weekend?" he asked as I laughed.

"Please, I'm going to be kids free for the first time in three years! I have things to do," I said with a laugh.

"Well, I get you Friday and Saturday night then. You have all day Saturday to do whatever, deal?"

"We'll see how Friday goes. I could hate you by the end of the night," I said as we laughed.

"I'm wounded."

"You'll live."

"I guess," he chuckled. "Can I ask you a serious question?"

"Sure, but don't be offended if I don't answer."

"You're still wearing your wedding rings…why?" he asked as I grew quiet.

"I never had a reason to take them off," I said as he hummed.

"Do you think you can take them off when we go out Friday?"

"I took them off right before you called. After talking to my parents, I realized it was time. I may wear them on a necklace or something, but I won't put them back on my finger," I said feeling sad.

"I understand," he said making me feel better.

"So, where are we going on Friday?"

"I was thinking we would go to one of my restaurants. So, you have your choice: a sports bar and grill, an Italian restaurant, or a sushi bar."

"Gross, no sushi. Since I don't get out much, I think we should eat some Italian. Is it like a formal place?" I asked. I was hoping I had something to wear.

"There's no dress code, if that's what you mean," he said, chuckling at me.

"Okay, I think I have a dress I can wear. It should still fit," I said, talking more to myself than him.

"There's no pressure with this date. I'm just going to wear a pair of pants and a nice shirt, untucked," he said as I laughed. "Ya know, I have a little problem that only you can help with," he said as I grew nervous.

"And what would that be?"

"I really don't think I can wait till Friday to see you," he said as I laughed.

"Well, I'm free every night from eight to ten," I said.

"Do you cook?"

"Yes."

"Then I think you should invite me over for dinner."

"I'm making a chicken casserole thing on Sunday," I said.

"I'm going to my parents on Sunday, what about Monday?"

"Monday is spaghetti and meat balls."

"I'll be there for that!" he said excitedly, making me laugh.

We talked a little while longer before hanging up for the night. Sunday was just a lazy day, and I ended up ordering pizza for dinner. I talked to Edward for a few minutes that night, but I kept it short, knowing I had to get up early the next day. I really liked talking with him. Alice's words were still in the back of my head, though. I was going to talk to Edward about it, but that was a face-to-face conversation. I wanted to be able to try to read his expressions. I felt anxious all day Monday; Mikey even asked if I was okay. Once I had the three older kids off to school, and the other three were down for a nap, I went to take a shower and I shaved. I rarely shaved for the fact that I had no reason to. I didn't plan on having sex with Edward with my kids in the house, but if he wanted to feel me up, I needed to be prepared, right?

I started making dinner after Lilli left. Monday's were late days with Cash, so he would be having dinner with us. A few minutes before Edward showed up, Cash and Jake thought it would be a good idea to start fighting. I sat them both in timeout just as Edward rang the door bell. I opened the door and waved him in quickly as I ran to the kitchen to stir my pasta.

"Uncle Edward!" I heard Cash yell.

"Sit back down," I said sternly. Cash's eyes filled with tears and Edward looked confused.

"But Ima go home," Cash said as he started to cry.

"Your Uncle is here to see me, now go sit," I said again, pointing to the couch.

"If Cash can get up, I'm not sitting!" Jake said, getting angry.

"Both of you sit, NOW!" I said loudly. Cash stomped his feet all the way to the couch and Jake sat with a huff.

"Rough day?" Edward asked as I went back to the kitchen. As I stirred the sauce, I felt Edward wrap his arms around my waist and I stiffened. "You looked stressed, I just want to make you feel better," he whispered in my ear. He tightened his grip on me and rested his head on top of mine. It was weird, but all my anxiety melted away.

"Thank you," I said as I relaxed into him.

"Dinner smells good," he said as he took a step back.

"Hi!" Rachel said as she hugged Edward leg. He smiled down to her and picked her up. She hugged him around the neck and I had to look away. I had never seen her with another man, and it made me feel extremely guilty.

"Go watch TV with the boys," he said to Rach. Once she was out of the kitchen, I felt his hands on me again. "Was that okay? She is such an amazing kid."

"It's fine, just...different," I said.

"Mommy, may I have my cords back?" Mikey said from the doorway of the kitchen.

"Yes. Just hook it up and see if I broke anything. If I did, I'll go to the store tomorrow," I said as I handed the cords back.

"Do you need any help?" Edward asked him.

"No, thanks. This happens all the time. Thanks, mom," Mikey said as he ran to his room.

"How many times have you ripped the cords out?"

"Too many. You would think they would learn," I said with a laugh.

Edward helped me with dinner and we fed the kids. By the end of dinner, Cash and Rachel were covered in sauce. Edward offered to clean the kitchen so I could get the kids cleaned up. I heard the door bell ring as I headed back toward the the front room. Just as I rounded the corner, I watched as Edward roughly grabbed Alice by the arm. I don't know what he said to her, but I did hear her say she was sorry.

"Hey," I said as I fully rounded the corner. "Cash is just getting his stuff together."

"If you ladies will excuse me," Edward said with a smile. As soon as he was in the kitchen I turned my attention back to Alice.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Nothing."

"Your arm is red, and you said you were sorry. It didn't look like nothing," I said. "Please, mother to mother, give me one good reason to stay away from him and I will."

"I don't do dishes, but the food is all put away. I think I'm going to buy you a dishwasher," Edward said, putting his arm around my waist.

"You two are so cute together," Alice said with a huge smile.

"I think so," Edward said with a bigger smile. I moved away from Edward and he didn't look happy.

"Cash ate really well tonight; he had two plates of spaghetti. He didn't have any accidents, either, and was only in time out once," I said with a smile.

"Awesome! You should come to Sunday dinner," Alice said excitedly.

"Thanks, but I won't be able to do that," I said.

"Why not?" Edward asked, sounding sad.

"I have to pick my kids up. I already told you this," I said.

"You should be back way before five," he argued.

"No I won't. It's an eight hour drive round trip," I said in annoyed tone.

"You don't have to give me attitude."

"You are no one to me. I do not have to answer to you," I said, holding my ground.

"Okay, I'm just going to go," Alice said quickly as she hurried out of the house.

"Do you want me to leave?" Edward asked.

"If you want to." I went to the kitchen and started on the dishes. At first I thought he left, but after I finished the dishes I heard his laughter.

"I owned you!" Mikey said with a laugh. I assumed he was playing with the kids in the boy's room.

"Mommy?" I heard Rachel say.

"Yeah, baby?"

"Ice cream, please?"

"We don't have any, but I have pie," I said as she squealed.

"Boys! Pie!" she yelled, climbing up into her seat at the table. Before I had the pie and plates to the table, the boys and Edward were sitting there waiting. I just shook my head and laughed. By the time dessert was done, it was time for the kids to head to their rooms. They all brushed their teeth and put their pajamas on before they got into bed. Like every other night, I would go into their rooms and tuck them in.

"I like Edward," Mikey said. "He's awesome."

"I'm glad you like him," I said, giving him a kiss.

"Will he be here in the morning?"

"No," I said. I left his room and Jake was already sleeping. I knew he was tired. He was still getting use to school. I went to Rachel's room, but she wasn't there. I headed for the living room and overheard her talking to Edward.

"I'm pretty sure I heard mommy say get into bed," Edward said.

"I need hugs and kisses," my little princess said. Edward caught sight of me and I nodded my head slightly. He leaned over and kissed her forehead and she hugged him tight. "Love you." I had to hold back the tears. Kids trusted and loved so easily.

I tucked Rach into bed and headed back to the living room. Edward was sitting there, looking overly comfortable. I sat next to him, facing him.

"We really need to talk."

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><p>No bitching! You all know I love to do cliffies! Lol. Best place to reach me is one facebook and there is a link on my profile. As we go along I will be adding pics to my blogspot as well. You can also find the link on my profile.<p>

As of now, Mondays will be the day this story updates. Anyone reading lipstick kisses, that story updates on Wednesday and teasers go up on my fb group page on Tuesday. Twisted get posted every Friday and teasers or on Wednesday or Thursday!


	4. Chapter 4

SURPRISE! Is this not the greatest day ever? Breaking dawn is now in theaters and I know I am super excited to see it tonight!

Thanks to toocute24, teamalltwilight, and Siobhan for all the help they give me!

I own nothing the but the plot!

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><p>"Why didn't you leave?" I asked.<p>

"I'm not scared of a bitchy woman," he said as I scowled.

"What was up with Alice? She said some things that haven't set well with me. We need to talk before this goes any further," I said as he rolled his eyes.

"What has she said?"

"What did you say to her at the door? I saw you grab her."

"Alice is a nosy bitch."

"Doesn't give you an excuse to grab her. Don't think I would ever allow you to treat me that way," I said as he shifted in his seat.

"She doesn't want us together."

"Why?"

"Because she doesn't think you can handle my lifestyle."

"What kind of lifestyle do you lead?"

"I'm rich. If we were to ever move in with each other, this house would have to go. We would get something bigger. She doesn't think you can handle the money," he said.

"She said that things aren't always what they seem, and that you have a nasty temper. She said you would never hurt my kids, but I would be a different story." His fists clenched, and his breathing picked up. "She also said that you're a really great guy, so it's all a little confusing."

"I am a good guy. This is fucking stupid! I want to date you and get to know you. I want to give you and your kids the world. I would raise the three of them as my own. If we were to be together, you would never have to babysit another child again, ever. If you don't want that, then I'll leave," he said.

"I'm scared, and Mike is the only man I have ever been with. He was the only man I had ever wanted. He never once grabbed a hold of me. I saw you grab Alice, and the red mark you left on her arm. I won't put my kids in the middle of an abusive situation," I said, trying to make him understand.

"I would never abuse you! Alice is one of the most annoying people ever! You would want to hit her, too, if you got to know her," he said. "I'll tell her I'm sorry if it will get you off my nuts!"

" I don't know what I'm doing. My kids have to come first, and I would never ever put them in harms way. Part of me is scared of you," I said as his face softened.

"Do you want to date me or get to know me?" he asked as he cupped my face with his hands.

"Yes." It was the truth; I did want to get to know him.

"Follow your heart," he said as he came close to my mouth.

"Are you going to kiss me?"

"Yes, I am," he said with a chuckle.

"Are we moving too fast?"

"It's just a kiss, baby," he said giving me cold chills.

"I've only ever kissed one person in my life," I said as he took a deep breath. I didn't know if I was making him mad, but I was nervous. "Everything is going to be okay, right?"

"Yes," he whispered as he kissed me. He pressed his lips to mine, and my eyes closed. Our mouths moved slowly together, and his hands tangled in my hair. His tongue passed my lips and it felt so good. I moved closer to him and his arms tightened around me. He ran his hand down my back, and I pulled back.

"That was amazing," I said, looking at my hands.

"Why'd you pull back?" he asked, lifting my face up. He had the sweetest smile on his face.

"You have to understand..."

"I get it. You're scared and your kids come first. I just want to be with you. I know we haven't been together long, but I really want to be with you. You're amazing. You are a great mom, you can cook, you keep a clean house, and you don't take any shit. I know you will keep me on my toes. I will always keep you and the kids safe, please don't doubt that," he said giving me a chaste kiss.

"Let's just take things slow." He moved in on me and started kissing me again. His kisses were melting every fear I had away.

As the week went on, Edward was at my house every chance he got, though it wasn't much since he worked a lot. On Wednesday, I had just put the kids down when he received a phone call and had to leave. We were in the middle of a teenage make out session, and he just up and left. He told me that kind of thing happened often. On Thursday, Edward brought over some takeout, and the kids absolutely loved the treat. Edward laughed when Rach said the food was yummy in her tummy. Every night, if Edward was at my house, Rachel would give him a hug and kiss, and she would say 'I love you' to him. His smile was always bright at bed time. Jake even started giving him hugs. Mikey would simply say goodnight and leave it at that. I would never push a man on my children.

At dinner on Thursday, Edward even told the kids that he wanted them on their best behavior for my parents. Rachel was scared, because she'd never spent the night at anyone's house without me before. When I told her that grandma was taking her shopping, though, she was all for going.

I spent the day Friday packing the kids up. Rachel was my sidekick throughout the entire day. When my parents arrived at lunchtime, I was shocked to see them. It was weird to sit and visit for a few minutes because that was something that rarely happened. They ate lunch with the kids and me, but I was pretty sure they only showed up so early in hopes of meeting Edward. As soon as Mikey and Jake were off the bus, they were gone after a quick hug and kiss.

Tori was always home by the time the kids arrived, so I never had to worry about Seth. Lilli left at four and then that just left Cash and I. I sat on the couch with him and he cuddled into my side. I kissed his forehead and found he was feverish. His fever ended up being one-oh-two, so I gave him a fever reducer. I knew he was off all day, and that should have been the sign of him being sick. I called Alice to let her know, so she was at my house before five.

"How's he feeling?" she asked when she arrived.

"He's sleepy, but he's not complaining about anything. None of the other kids have been sick, though." I told her.

"I know it could be nothing, but I hate when he's sick."

"I understand that," I told her as she picked up Cash and left. I wanted to ask her more about Edward, but I knew she wanted to get her baby home.

Edward was picking me up at six-thirty, so I took my time getting ready. I wanted to look nice for him. After drying my hair, I ran the straightener through my long, frizzy locks. After my hair was done, I put on some eye makeup and I was ready. I wore a simple black cocktail dress and a black pair of flats; I never wore heels. I was pretty sure most men could walk in heels better than I could. As I waited for Edward, I called to talk to the kids and they were so happy to be spending time with Charlie and Renee. I was very relieved. I also cleaned the living room and kitchen. When I was done I looked at the clock and it was already seven o'clock. I waited until seven-thirty, before I called him. His phone went right to voice mail. I was starving by eight, so I grabbed a bag of chips.

I was pissed because I was all dressed up and ready to do something. I knew that Seth was going with his father for the weekend, so I called Tori and asked her if she wanted to go and do something. She knew I had plans with Edward, and she could tell I was upset. We walked down the street to a small bar and ordered some food and beers.

"Ya know, we should do this once a month," she said as I agreed.

"If the kids do well this weekend, I may see if that's possible."

"So, how pissed are you?" she asked me as I laughed.

"I'm over it now. I would probably still be fuming if I was sitting at home by myself. You saved me," I said as I worked on my third beer. I knew I had to slow down on the drinking for the fact that I never really drank.

"What are you going to say to him?" Tori asked as I shrugged my shoulders.

"He's not my boyfriend or anything. If he would have called and said he couldn't make it, I would've been fine. It's just the fact that I sent the kids away, and then he just doesn't show up or call, that's shitty!" I said with a laugh.

"Were you hoping to get some tonight?"

"Maybe? I don't really know. I haven't had sex with anyone but myself in three years," I said as Tori's mouth dropped.

"You poor girl, I should kick his ass for you," she said as we laughed. "You know your phone keeps going off, right?" I looked at my phone and saw that Edward was calling. I could have answered, but I didn't.

"Wow, it's almost midnight," I said as the time displayed on my phone. The bartender brought us over two more beers. "He started calling at nine," I told her. He had called ten times and sent so many text that my inbox was full.

"What do the texts say?"

"'I'm sorry, baby. Where are you? Please talk to me. I'm so sorry, baby. Please talk to me'…blah blah blah," I said as she laughed. "Oh, he starts getting mad at ten. 'Tell me where the fuck you are right now! I'm getting pissed. Where the fuck are you? Don't play with me, Bella.' Should I even care?" I asked her.

"I don't know. I wouldn't. He should've been at your house at six-thirty, and then doesn't even call till nine? Yeah, I wouldn't care," she said as I set my phone down.

We ended up closing the bar down. I was perfectly drunk, and ready for sleep. Tori and I talked about anything we could think of. She made me feel better about dating, too. After some of the stories she told me, I had it pretty easy with Edward. We walked home, and it seemed like it took forever to get there. At one point, I had to second guess myself, and think about how to get home. Drinking was definitely not for me. As we rounded the corner, I saw Edward's car in my driveway and Tori started acting like we were getting caught by a parent.

"Oh, you're in trouble!" she said as we laughed. I was sure we were waking up the neighborhood with how loud we were being.

"We should've gotten some chicken wings," I said as we made it to her porch.

"Why are you just thinking of this now?" she asked, punching me in the arm.

"You're a mean drunk," I said as she staggered up he stairs. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"You should have a nice hang over in the morning." Yeah, she was mean, but she made a good point.

I walked slowly to my house, and Edward stood from the stairs when he saw me. He didn't say anything right away, but I could tell he was mad. I stumbled a little as I made my way to the stairs. As I stood in front of my door, I felt him standing close. I fumbled with my keys, but I was able to get the door unlocked. I walked into the house and tried to shut Edward out, but he walked in behind me.

"Where were you?" he asked. I could hear the anger in his voice. I had no reason to answer him, so I went to the kitchen to get some water and a pain reliever. I knew I was going to have a headache in the morning. "Where the FUCK were you?"

"Edward, you aren't my boyfriend. You were supposed to be here at six-thirty. I waited till eight for you. I was dressed and looking super cute, so I called Tori and asked her if she wanted to go out. I didn't get rid of my kids so I could stay at home alone. I was hungry, and did I mention I look super cute?" I asked waving my hand up and down my body. "You didn't call, so I left. You have no fucking right to know where I was."

"You are so drunk," he said with a laugh. "I'm sorry about tonight; I should've called. I've been worried about you. If I was to introduce you to someone, I would call you my girlfriend, so that 'you're not my boyfriend' bullshit needs to stop," he said as I stared at him. I guess I had a boyfriend. "Why didn't you answer when I called?" he asked as I headed for my room.

"I didn't know you called. You're lucky I'm so drunk, or I would probably yell at you, but right now, I'm too tired."

"You didn't know I called and texted you all night?"

"Well, I did notice, but not till midnight. By then, I was too wasted to really care," I said as I kicked off my shoes. "All I wanted to do tonight is go out for a nice dinner, come home and have sex with you, but now, I'm just going to sleep," I said as I took my dress off. I didn't think about it at the time, but I should've looked at his face when he saw me in just my bra and panties.

"I am so sorry."

"I bet you really are now," I said with a laugh as I walked into my bathroom. I took my bra and underwear off before I put on a baggy shirt and pajama pants. I used the bathroom and then washed my face and hands. When I walked back into my room, Edward was sitting on the edge of the bed. I turned on the bedside lamp and then turned off the overhead light. At that moment, I didn't care if he stayed or left; all I knew was that I was going to sleep.

"Will you make it up to me tomorrow?" I asked as I lay in bed.

"I promise," he said as he sat on the bed more.

"I'm still mad at you. I really wanted to have sex. The only person I have had sex with in three years has been myself," I said as I heard him chuckle.

"Well," he started to say. I was too comfortable to move to see what he was doing, but I could hear him moving around. "We could still have sex. You did look super cute in that hot little dress," he said as he cuddled me.

"Nope. If you wanna get into my pants, you have to feed me first," I said as he laughed loudly.

"Good night, baby," he said kissing my neck. That was the last thing I remembered about that night.

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><p>Hope you liked your little surprise! Leave a review and let me know what you all think! Face book is the best place to reach me and the link is on my profile! See you on Monday :)<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

I woke the next morning feeling surprisingly well; I thought I would have had one hell of a hangover, but I didn't. Edward was pressed up against my back, and his bare legs were in between mine. I was never one for cuddling all night, but I actually felt comfortable. My stomach hurt and I knew I had to take a shit. I was a little embarrassed. I tiptoed into the bathroom, turned on the vent fan, and sprayed air freshener before I went. I was starting to think that drinking once a month would be too much for me. After I flushed, I sprayed some more air freshener; he really didn't need to smell me. I washed my hands and brushed my teeth, happy that I didn't look too bad. I had every intention of heading for the kitchen, but when I walked back to the bedroom, Edward was half awake. He was laying on his back with the blanket low on his hips. His body was perfect. I could see a happy trail down his stomach, and it made me want him something fierce.

"Come back to bed," he said, rubbing my side of the bed.

"What time is it?" I asked as I walked back to my side.

"It's only eight," he replied. I doubled checked, shocked that it was so early.

Once I was back in bed, Edward groaned. I didn't get it at first, until he got out of bed and headed for the bathroom. My eyes widened when I saw that he was just in a pair of boxer briefs. His dick looked huge through the tight material, and I suddenly wanted to find out first-hand. His back was just as perfect as his chest. He walked back and cuddled up with me after he was done in the bathroom.

"Did you brush your teeth?" I asked him. I could smell the cool mint on his breath.

"I did."

"With my toothbrush?"

"Please don't tell me you're a germaphobe."

"No, but it is kinda gross."

"I stick my tongue in your mouth almost everyday," he countered. Good point. I guess I just found it weird that he would use my toothbrush. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," I said as I felt him push my hair off my shoulder.

"You look so pretty in the morning."

"I'm not having sex with you," I said as he sucked on my neck.

"Fine," he said holding me tight. "Let's go get some breakfast."

"Yeah!" I said, getting really excited. I hadn't been out to breakfast since Mikey was born. I jumped out of bed quickly, and threw on a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt. I ran my hair between my fingers and then threw it up in a pony tail.

"You're ready?" he asked as I came out of my room.

"Yeah, I'm excited!" I said, putting my shoes on. Edward wrapped his arms around me when I was done getting ready, and pulled me close.

"I think sleepovers are going to happen," he said with an all knowing smile.

"Maybe. I don't know how I'll feel once the kids get home, but I would really like you to stay tonight," I said as he lowered his mouth to mine. I was sure this man was born just to kiss me. My knees would go weak every time our lips met. I could kiss him all day.

"Bella, I really like you," he said against my lips.

"I like you, too," I told him as he smiled sweetly at me. We kissed a couple more times before we were out the door. "What kind of car is this?" I asked as he held open the passenger side door.

"Aston Martin," he said with a proud smile, as if I should know what that meant. I just smiled and nodded my head; I had no idea what kind of car it was, but I would make sure to Google it later.

As soon as he was in car, he took off like a bat out of hell. I clenched my eyes shut and hung onto the door. When I felt the car stop I started to breathe again.

"You are fucking insane!" I yelled at him. "I have children I would like to see again, asshole!" I said, punching him in the arm.

"What are you freaking out about? I got us here safe and sound," he said as he chuckled. "I'm the best driver in the world."

"I'm either going to be driving myself around from now on, or you can ride with me. I will ride home with you, but that's it," I said as he rolled his eyes.

"I would never let anything happen to you," he said, sounding annoyed.

"Just please slow down when you bring me home. I will be driving us around from now on," I said before walking away from him.

"How many?" the hostess asked as soon as I was through the door.

"Two," I said as Edward walked in. As soon as the woman saw Edward, she stood up straight and pushed her boobs out. I hated women like her. "Hey, baby. I'm so hungry," I said as I wrapped my arms around his waist. "He is the best boyfriend ever," I said as the girl rolled her eyes at me.

"I like the jealous side of you," he said with a laugh as he looked over the menu.

"I just hate girls like her."

"Well, I give you permission to act jealous anytime you want."

"I wasn't jealous."

"I just like you saying that I am your boyfriend," he said as I laughed. "What are you getting?"

"French toast."

"Okay. Do you always know what you are getting whenever you go anywhere?"

"For the most part," I said as he looked back over the menu.

"I think I'm going to try the new breakfast sandwich."

"How do you know you will like it?"

"I won't until I try it," he said.

"I don't try different things because I eat what I know I like. I don't go out very often, so when I do, I stick with what I like," I said with a shrug. I watched as Edward pulled out his cell and started texting. "It's rude to be on your phone when you're out on a date."

"This is a date?"

"Whatever, you know what I'm saying," I said just as the waitress came to take our order. Once she left, I stared at Edward as he played on his phone. He was so sexy. "Are you going to pay attention to me?"

"Are you my girlfriend, and are we out on a date?" I scowled at him and he just smirked.

"We have known each other for a week. It's too soon to be putting a title to it," I said as he nodded. He went back to his cell. I took out my cell and sent a text to my mom, asking how the kids were doing. She replied quickly, saying they were great. I would have to see if this could be a once a month thing. I really did enjoy my time.

"Are you even going to talk to me?" I asked.

"As soon as you say, 'Edward you are my boyfriend', or 'I'm on a date with my boyfriend'."

"Edward, you're crazy," I said as he went back to his cell. I refused to give him what he wanted, but he knew how to get it out of me. The waitress brought our food a few minutes later, and Edward started to flirt with her.

"You have the most amazing eyes," he said to the young girl.

"Thanks, handsome. I can definitely say the same about you. Do you wear contacts?" she asked as if I wasn't sitting there.

"Nope, these are all natural," he said giving her his crooked smile.

"That is just impressive. I could stare at your eyes all day."

"He's my boyfriend and we are on a date, so go find someone else's eyes to stare into," I said as I glared at the poor, confused girl. I was pretty sure she had forgotten that I was sitting there. "Don't expect a tip, either."

"Baby, don't be rude," he said giving me a look that told me to shut up. "So, I'm picking you up at six tonight."

"I have plans," I said, digging into my food. I was not going out with him tonight.

"Don't be a brat. I have an amazing evening planed," he said. "I have some business to attend to after this, so I'll drop you off and then be back to get you at six."

"I don't have anything to wear. I wore my only dress last night, only to have a total douche bag stand me up. Although . . . I did dance with a pretty smoking hot guy who bought me a beer," I said as he clenched his fists.

"Alice," Edward said into his cell phone. "Hey, little sister! What are you up to today?" he asked her. "Bella wants to go shopping and has no one to go with."

"I'm not going shopping," I said, swatting at him.

"Yeah, my treat," he said with a chuckle as he completely ignored me. "Okay, I will drop her off at the mall in an about an hour."

"Edward!" I hissed, kicking him under the table.

"Thanks so much, see you soon," he said hanging up the phone. "Kick me again, and I'll kick you back. You are going shopping, you are going to buy yourself anything you want, and you will be ready to go at six tonight. Do you understand me?" he asked as he glared at me.

"You don't know me very well, I don't take orders from anyone."

"You're being a bitch."

"And you are being an overbearing asshole who, at this moment, I could care less to ever see again," I said as I stood from the table and briskly walked out of the restaurant. Once I was outside, I pulled my cell out of my purse and started to call Tori; I knew she would pick me up. Just as I was about to hit send, my phone was ripped out of my hand and I was being dragged to Edward's car. He opened the passenger side door and tried to shove me in.

"Let me give you a clue..." I started to say to him.

"Get in the fucking car! I will not have our drama out in the open," he said as I got in the car.

"This will be the last time I ever get in a car with you," I said as I closed my eyes.

"What is your problem with my driving?"

"I have kids I would love to see again, and you drive like a dick!"

"I wouldn't hurt you."

"Well, now that is a fucking lie! My arm hurts and it's because of you," I said.

"You are pushing my fucking buttons!" he yelled at me. Yeah, he was scary when he yelled.

"Take me home, please," I said as I lay my head back against the seat. When I felt the car moving at a more reasonable speed, I opened my eyes. He pulled up to my house and I moved to go inside. "Thanks for breakfast." He didn't say anything, which shocked me. I thought for sure he was going to argue me.

I heard him peel out of my driveway and I let my tears fall. I really liked him. After laying down for a while, I started to feel better. I picked up my phone to call him, but then stopped myself; I was probably better off. A few hours after he dropped me off, I heard my doorbell. I checked the mirror to make sure my face wasn't blotchy from crying, just in case it was Edward. I looked through the peep hole and saw that is was indeed him. I smiled, relieved that he came back.

"Hi," I said, clearing my throat. I could feel my tears coming back.

"I got this for you," he said holding out a garment bag.

"Edward..."

"Please, take the dress and be ready at six. I can't wait to take you out. Bella, you're great and I am going to fuck up a million times. I'm going to order you around and tell you what you can and can't do. I'm the biggest douche bag you will ever meet, but I will love you with everything that I am," he said as he stared into my eyes.

"Edward," I said as I started to cry. He walked into the house and set the dress down. He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tight. "I'm a stubborn bitch and I will fight you every time you order me around."

"I can deal with that; I love fighting" he said as he wiped my tears away.

"Mike use to give me whatever I wanted."

"I'm not Mike and I never will be."

"I know, I'm just saying that is why I'm such a brat," I said as we laughed.

"I have to go. I'll be back at six," he said as he kissed me. "I'm going to go so I can get back."

"Okay," I said as he kissed me again. I loved the way his hands felt on mine. I was excited for my date with him and I couldn't wait to see where we were going to end up in this relationship.

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><p>Not too much to say today. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! Links on my profile on how to reach me!<p>

Thanks to all my girls for all they do and I will see you all next Monday!


	6. Chapter 6

The dress fit perfectly. I hoped Alice helped him pick it out or I would be questioning whether or not he was gay. The dress was amazing. I did notice that the price tag had been ripped off. The dress ended mid-thigh, and was dark blue. The straps wrapped around neck and it revealed a lot of cleavage, but I felt like the sexiest person in the world. I curled my hair in long curls, but pulled back the front to keep it out of my face. I was nervous. Edward and I had technically been out already, but this was our first 'official' date. I heard the door bell right at six and smiled to myself. He was really trying to make up for his fuck-up last night. He looked so hot. True to his word, he had on a pair of khakis and a black button down shirt, untucked.

"You look great," I said to him with a smile.

"I feel underdressed after looking at you," he said, putting his hand over his heart. His eyes kept moving up and down my body. "You look good enough eat, and I do plan on that later."

"Will you stop?" I asked as I walked out on my porch. He pulled me into him and kissed me passionately. His hands roamed up and down my body. He cupped my ass and I moaned into his mouth.

"I think we should just stay here," he said as he pushed me against the wall.

"Mmm, you have to feed me first," I said as he bit my bottom lip. "You like to bite," I said, rubbing my lip.

"I do, and I plan on it doing it a lot more tonight." I laughed as he took my hand and led me to the car.

"Wait, will you drive more carefully?"

"Yes, baby. I was just trying to impress you," he said as he held open the door.

He held my hand all the way to his restaurant. I was really enjoying my time with him. We walked in and went directly to the back, behind closed doors. There were candles all over the place and flower center pieces. The whole setting was the most romantic thing I had ever seen in my life.

"All this for me?" I asked. I was truly taken back by everything.

"You're a beautiful woman, you deserve a beautiful life," he said as I awed.

"Sometimes you say the most amazing things," I said before kissing him.

"Have a seat. I have a special treat for you," he said as he snapped his fingers. A waiter came to the table then, setting four plates down.

"Anything else sir?" the young man asked.

"Not at this time," Edward answered.

"I would like a drink," I said before the kid could walk away.

"You have a coke and a glass of wine," the waiter said, gesturing to the table in front of me. I felt stupid.

"You may go," Edward said politely.

"Sorry," I said.

"You didn't know, love. Now, I took the liberty of ordering one of everything, so you can try something new," he said as I stared at him.

"That's a lot of wasted food. What if I don't like something?"

"I'll take it home and my parents will eat it. Please don't worry about such a thing," he said, handing me a fork.

I tried everything. I wasn't a huge seafood eater, so those dishes went to waste. I probably should have told him earlier that I didn't like seafood. Oh well. Edward ate with me, so there wasn't too much of a waste. My favorite was the mushroom ravioli. I ended up filling myself up with that. He even had the five desserts that were available brought out. I had a bite of each, but was too full to eat anymore than that.

"This was amazing," I said as he held my hand.

"Best date I have ever been on. Bella, I really want you to like me," he said.

"I do. I like you more than I ever thought possible, but something is holding me back," I said, suddenly nervous.

"Don't ever hold back with me. I want a future with you," he said as I took my hand back.

"I don't know what kind of future I can give you," I said as he grew quiet.

"Do you think you can fall in love with me?"

"Yes, and that scares me."

"I'm not Mike. I will never be like him. I will spoil the shit out of you, but I won't bow down to you like he did. You have seen both sides of me in just a week. If I truly didn't want you, do you think I would have showed you who I really am?" he asked.

"I wish I knew someone like me. I wish I had someone to talk to and ask them how they moved on and if the guilt was normal. I want to move on, but I don't know how," I said as he cupped my cheek with his hand.

"No one is going to blame you for moving on. Please move on with me," he said, pleading with his eyes. I just wish I had someone who understood that I could talk to. I wanted to move on. I wanted to say yes to him, but I didn't know if I would be good enough for him.

"I can try..."

"Don't try, just do it. Be with me. Be my girlfriend, and maybe someday you will love me and want to be my wife," he said, looking hopeful. After that night I was falling for him and it scared me. I had never loved another man before. Mike had been it for me for so long, and now he was gone and Edward was with me. I knew I had to move on for me, and I was pretty sure I was ready.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah," I said with a smile.

"You just made me the happiest man in the world," he said as he kissed me. "Let's get out of here." With that, he threw some money on the table and we headed back to my house.

He drove a littler fast for my liking, but we both needed each other in the worst way. As soon as we were through my front door, we started to lose clothing. His mouth felt so hot on my skin, and I couldn't keep my hands off of him. His body was soft, yet firm, and I knew I could dig my nails into him without causing him pain. By the time I was on my bed, we were both completely naked, and I didn't even remember taking off my underwear. As we kissed each other, our hands explored each other's bodies. He cupped my breasts and I felt the ripple of his muscles. I ran my nails down his back and palmed his ass. He was sexy as hell.

His mouth moved from my mouth to my neck, and as I wrapped my hand around his giant cock, he bit me, making me scream. I stroked him from the base of his cock to his tip and he moaned into my ear. His hands felt rough on my body, but sensual at the same time. The feel of him on my skin set my body on fire. He sat back on his heels and stared at my body longingly.

"You are so perfect," he said as I stroked him. I wasn't ashamed of my body in any way. Even though I had birthed three children, you couldn't tell by looking at me.

"Edward, I want you so bad," I said as I stroked him faster.

"You have me, baby," he said as he ran his finger down my sex.

"I want you inside of me."

"I have to taste you first," he said as he dipped his head between my legs.

"Holy shit!" I half yelled as he swiped me with his tongue. He sucked and nibbled my clit and then pushed two fingers inside of me. I came in a matter of minutes.

"Fuck, you taste so good! I promise I will take more time next time. I just really want to be inside you," he said as he kissed me. He lined himself up at my entrance and slowly pushed his way inside of me.

"Edward...oh my...fuck! You feel so good," I said as I moved my hips.

"You feel like a fucking virgin! Am I hurting you?" he groaned out as he gripped my thighs tightly.

"No, no it feels so good. I've miss this," I said as I felt myself coming undone.

"So good," he kept chanting.

He moved a little faster and I came for him again. He pushed my legs back toward my head and his cock went deeper. I didn't even know I was so flexible. I could feel every vein in his cock as he stretched me. Mike wasn't small, but Edward was much bigger. I knew he wasn't going to last much longer. He was picking up his pace, and his breathing was ragged; he was hanging on by a thread. He lowered my legs as he came inside of me. I could feel four shots of cum fill me. I even ended up cumming one last time. He slowly pulled out of me as he kissed me softly.

"That was the best I have ever fucking had in my life," he said as he lay on his back. "Come here," he said, pulling me to him. Our sticky bodies molded together as sleep took us under.

I woke the next morning feeling sore as hell, but I welcomed the ache. The clock read seven and I knew I needed to get up. I rolled off of Edward's chest and ran my hands over my face. I couldn't believe the night I had. I was in too deep with him, and I think I liked it. I slowly climbed out of bed and headed for the bathroom; my shower was calling my name. I let the water warm up as I checked out my body for marks. Sure enough, I had bruising on my thighs and a hickey on my neck, making me look like a teenager. Although, I did kind of like having his mark on me.

The water felt amazing on my sore muscles. Once I was all clean, I started to feel refreshed. I wrapped a towel around my body after wringing out my hair. When I finished brushing my teeth and applying my deodorant, I headed back to my room. Edward was still sound asleep, looking so sexy. I knew he had to wake up, but I didn't want to disturb him. I quickly dressed before I finally went to wake him.

"Edward, you have to wake up," I said shaking him. "Edward," I said a little louder. The sound of my voice made him jump up and I stumbled back.

"What's wrong?" he asked quickly.

"Nothing, you just have to get up. I have to leave," I said as he looked confused.

"Where are you going?"

"To get the kids," I said slowly.

"I know that. I'm sorry, I don't think I have slept that sound in years," he said throwing his legs over the edge of the bed. "Let me shower and I will go with you to pick them up."

"You want to go with me to Forks?"

"Yes. I don't have to be to my parents until five."

"You want to meet my parents?"

"Yeah, I'm going to meet them sooner or later. Give me five minutes." I guess he was going to meet my parents.

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><p>Thanks for all the reviews I love them all! Another huge thanks to my girls for all their ongoing help!<p>

You can find me on facebook, twitter, and blogspot.


	7. Chapter 7

After getting a quick breakfast and some coffee, we were on our way. I was anxious to see my babies! Edward refused to let me drive my car, claiming it was a piece of shit. I thought it was fine. I had a 2002 Toyota Camry, and it was the best car I had ever owned. Edward tried to tell me he was getting me a new car, but I told him I would never speak to him again if he did. We ended up taking my car after all, for the simple fact that the car seats wouldn't fit in his. Edward insisted on driving, though. He said it was emasculating to him if I drove.

Edward wasn't picky when it came to music, so I controlled the radio. He either held my hand or thigh the entire time we were in the car, and we talked about 'us' and what we wanted from a relationship.

"I just want a partner," I told him as he smiled. "I enjoy being a homemaker and I really don't mind cooking or cleaning. If I were to ask you to take out the garbage, I would expect it to be gone shortly after I asked. I hate doing lawn work, so that would be on you, too."

"Yeah, I don't do yard work. I will be hiring someone to do that for us," he said, making me laugh. That was so him.

"I'm also a fan of consideration. If you are planing on coming home, but something happens and you get delayed, I would expect a phone call," I said, knowing that was going to be a problem.

"Does a text count?"

"Yes."

"Then I can do that. I don't do well with constant bitching. I will most likely stop listening to you or tell you to just shut the fuck up," he said as I shook my head at him.

"You would tell me to shut the fuck up even if I wasn't constantly bitching," I said with a laugh.

"I will probably be around a lot. You may get sick of me," he said, taking a quick look at me.

"For some reason, I have a feeling you would keep coming back even if I told you to leave," I responded, making him smirk.

"You are going to marry me, Bella Newton."

"Probably not."

"Why?"

"Because I already did the marriage thing."

"I want to get married."

"Even if we did get married, I wouldn't want a big wedding," I said as he nodded his head.

"I don't give a fuck how we get married as long as you become Bella Cullen," he said as I gave him a small smile. "Do you think I could ever adopt the kids? I'm not saying it would be soon, but maybe in a few years?"

"No. Mike is their father and always will be. I promised him they would always be Newtons. I don't even know if I would want to change my own name," I said as he shook his head.

"You will be Bella Cullen." His tone left no room for argument.

"Honestly, we're just starting to date. There is no need to worry about getting married," I said as I looked out the window.

After the serious talk was over, the mood felt light. We both sang to the songs that were the radio. Edward was an awful singer, but that didn't stop him. I was pretty sure he thought he could sing, and who was I to burst his bubble? As soon as the "Welcome to Forks" sign came into view, I grew nervous. I was hoping my parents would like him. I gave him directions to the house, and when we pulled up, I took a deep breath.

"They are going to love me," Edward said with a smug smile. He took my hand and we headed for the front door. When we walked in, I could hear my kids laughing and I instantly relaxed. I led Edward toward the living room, and saw that the kids were looking at pictures with my parents. Jake looked up at me and then back to the pictures. After a second, he did a double-take and then his eyes lit up.

"Edward!" he said as Rachel quickly stood up.

"Memaw, my Edward is here!" she exclaimed.

"Papa took me fishing and I got three fish!" Jake told Edward.

"Did you take pictures?" Edward asked with an enthusiastic smile.

"We did, come take a look," my mom said extending her had to him. "I'm Renee."

"Mom, this is Edward," I said as I picked up Rach.

"I missed you, Mommy," she said as I kissed her.

"I missed you, too, so much," I said, squeezing her tight. She reached for Edward and he took her from me and hugged her. "Dad, this is Edward. Edward, this is my dad, Charlie," I said as they shook hands.

"Nice to meet you, Edwin," my dad said as I laughed.

"Dad, that is so old," I teased. "He use to call Mike, 'Mickey' or 'Michelle'. Just ignore him." Edward laughed at that one.

We talked with my parents for a little while and the kids were already planning for another weekend stay. I went with my mother to my old room to make sure that the kids had all their things. My room looked the same except that there was a bigger bed. My mom said the kids slept fine both nights, and I was glad they were comfortable here with my parents. Mike's parents have never even met the kids. They hated me, and had made Mike choose. They didn't even attend his funeral. Mike said that they had made peace before he died, though.

"You look happy," my mother said, sitting on the bed.

"I am," I said with a sigh.

"I like Edward."

"Me, too," I said with a chuckle. "He can be so intense. He is definitely Mike's opposite."

"I think he will be good for you."

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Yeah. Mike was always a wonderful provider, but that man downstairs can give you the world," she said. All she saw were the dollar signs.

"He has a temper," I said. I needed her to know that Edward had his flaws.

"So did Mike. Most men do. Bella, don't find excuses not to move on. This is a good thing," she said as I smiled.

"He wants to get married," I told her as her eyes grew.

"That's great that he is thinking of the future. Baby, this is a good thing. Don't hold back with him," she said hugging me. "Thanks for letting us keep the kids. It was one of the best weekends ever."

"Well, they had fun, so I'm sure it'll happen again."

"Anytime!" she said excitedly.

When we got to the bottom of the stairs, I could hear my dad and Edward talking. They seemed to be hitting it off quite well. Maybe my mom was right; maybe I was trying to find an excuse to stay out of the relationship. Edward was really good with my kids, and they seemed to be taking to him quickly. I just needed to chill and let things flow.

Before we left, I made sure that everyone used the bathroom. I always liked to drive the whole four hours without stopping. The kids talked about their weekend for the first hour. Mikey had told us that he really wanted to go fishing again, but he wanted Edward to go with them. Charlie said all men fish, so the boys made plans to go fishing. Rachel fell asleep, then Mikey, but Jake never wanted to miss a thing. He loved the long drive, but he could never make it the whole time. Edward talked about how he really liked my dad and how he was sure my dad liked him. We arrived in Seattle at five and I knew Edward was late.

"Are you coming back over tonight?" I asked once the kids were in the house.

"I may, but I'll call and let you know for sure," he said as he pulled me to him. "Why don't you go with me?"

"Not tonight. The kids are going to be extra hyper, and I don't want them meeting anyone in that state," I said with a laugh.

"Fine, but you are going next Sunday," he said.

"We'll see," I said in a teasing tone.

"I met your parents today, and you have already met my mom, so you really have no excuse."

"Yes, sir," I said as he kissed me. "Thanks for going with me."

"You're welcome, and we _are_ getting you a new car."

"Call me later," I said, walking away.

My night was busy. I fed the kids some dinner, then gave them all baths. I sat down with Mikey and worked on his reading. He was an amazing reader. He was seven and he was already reading Junie B. Jones books all on his own. Jake was a different story; I had to do extra work with him, but he was just as amazing. After reading the kids a bed time story, I sat down and started watching some show. I was shocked by how much I was missing Edward. I knew then that I was falling for him.

EPOV

I was falling in love with Bella, and I really didn't think it was going to happen so soon. She was absolutely amazing, and I was lucky as shit that she was giving me the time of day. I loved her kids, too; they were the best. They were now my family and I would do anything for them. Despite Bella's protests, I was going to get her a new car. She really needed it. Her car was fine mechanically, but she still needed something a little bigger. The kids were so cramped in that little backseat that I felt bad for them. By the time I got to my parents' house, everyone was eating. My father announced to the whole family that I was in love and had found a wife. The only one that wasn't happy was Alice. I would have to talk to Jasper to see if he could talk any sense into her. She needed to get over the fact that Bella and I were together.

"Please, Edward, just leave her alone. Walk away now, before someone gets hurt," Alice said once dinner was done.

"Alice, this is the last time I am going to say this. Mind your own fucking business. Bella and I are together, and there is nothing you can do or say that will break us up. Keep it up and watch what happens," I said to her.

"What's your problem with your brother's relationship?" my father asked, having overheard our conversation.

"Dad, Bella is amazing. She doesn't deserve this life. She is going to want out as soon she finds out the truth. He's trapping her and not giving her a choice," Alice said as her eyes filled with tears.

"Where does your loyalty lie, Alice? This is what you're going to do: you are going to befriend Bella, and you are going to make her think your brother is prince charming. Don't ruin this for him," my dad said sternly. You never went against family.

"I wish I never would have asked you to get Cash that day. I really didn't think you would like her," Alice said, throwing her hands in the air. "She is going to hate me!" Her last statement gained the attention of her husband.

"She will get over it," I said, pointing my finger in her face.

"Alice, that's enough!" Jasper said, causing her to instantly shut up.

"Fine. I won't help you, but I won't talk bad about you either," Alice said as she started with the water works.

"You will do as you're told. You know how this all works. You did the same exact thing for Emmett, and Rose doesn't hate you," Jasper said.

"I never liked her."

"Alice, your brother needs a spot in this family. You aren't just helping him by doing this, you're helping all of us," my mother said. I never thought she would go along with all of this.

"Mom..."

"Just do it," my mom said before walking away. It wasn't very often she had the last word in a conversation.

"Let's go have a drink," my dad said, patting me on the back. The men headed for his office, and we all gathered around with a glass of brandy. "So, have you done a background check?"

"I have. There are no red flags. Her parents were a working class couple, and her mother left her father all the time. Bella has trust issues, so this isn't going to help, but whatever; I can handle her. Her late husband has some family still alive, but they aren't in the picture. I have already asked her father for his blessing to marry her and he said yes. I told him it wouldn't be right away, but that it was something that I wanted. Her father even invited me fishing with him and my boys..."

"Your boys?" my cousin Emmett asked.

"Yeah, they're my boys and Rachel's my princess. They are the best kids ever. I love them so much," I said with a stupid grin on my face.

"He's so in love! God, I never thought this was going to happen!" Jasper said with a laugh.

"Well, if it wasn't for Alice, I would have never met her," I said before downing my drink.

"Well, you have a month off. You will only be called in if something is of utmost importance. Move in with her; give her no choice but to love you," my father said.

"Can do," I replied as I left the room. Bella was going to love me if she didn't already. I knew I just had to show her how good life with me could be.

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><p>So, you all still liking the story? Thanks for all the reviews! You all have been amazing with the response to this story. Keep them coming, they make me smile! Also a huge thank you goes out to my girls, I love them!<p>

I hope by now you all know how to reach, but if not there are links on my profile!


	8. Chapter 8

WARNING! YOU MAY NEED A TISSUE FOR THIS CHAPTER! I KNOW I CRIED WHILE I WAS WRITING THIS!

You all have been amazing with your review and I thank you all so much! Thank you a thousand times!

The biggest thank you goes out to toocute24 for being the most amazing person in this world!

Also thanks to Siobhan and teamalltwilight for putting up with me! My three girls have become such great friends and for that I am the luckiest person in this fandom! Love the three of you to death!

I own nothing but the plot with a smile on my face!

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><p>BPOV<p>

I was more in love Edward than I had ever imagined. After our first night 'together', he basically moved in. It was nice to have man in the house again. I was so happy and I never thought it was possible to be that happy again. The kids adored Edward. They were developing a bond with each other and it was easy to see us becoming a family. He made it home for dinner most nights, and always shared the bed with me. It was 'our' bed now, not just mine. Our sex life was more than I could've ever ask for. When he said, 'I always get what I want,' he wasn't joking. If he wanted to have sex, it didn't matter how I felt, he still got some. It didn't hurt that he knew exactly how to turn me on.

My children and I were welcomed into his family with open arms. Carlisle, Edward's father, was the most intimidating person I had ever met in my life. He grew on me after a couple of visits, though. My kids loved everyone, and they played well with the other children. Alice had Cash, while Rosalie and Emmett had a boy named Royce and a girl named Emma. There were other kids around, but I wasn't sure who belonged to whom. Emmett was Edward's cousin. Every Sunday, all the men would disappear for an hour or so. I didn't know what they were doing, but I was usually visiting with the other women anyway. I really liked everyone and enjoyed my time there. As I was sitting in the kitchen sipping on some coffee, Edward walked in holding a very tired-looking Rachel.

"Get the boys. We're going home," he said as I smiled. I loved seeing how close he was becoming with the kids. We said our goodbyes and headed home. After we had the kids all tucked in, we hung out on the couch.

"We need to talk about the upcoming holidays," Edward said, sounding serious. "What do you usually do?"

"I make Thanksgiving dinner for the kids and me. If Tori's home, she comes over. For Christmas, I go to Forks to see my parents," I told him as he nodded his head. I had a feeling he wanted to change my plans.

"We'll go to Thanksgiving at my parents' this year. My mom always loves any extra help she can get. It's up to you, but I would like to invite your parents to join us," he said as I smiled.

"That's fine. I think they'll come," I said. My parents and I were becoming close. I had come to the realization that the reason I shut them out for so long, was because it was part of my grieving. After Mike died, all I wanted were my kids. It was my way of hanging on to him. After all, they were little pieces of him.

"Good. As for Christmas, I want to stay here. This is our first Christmas together as a family, and I want it to be special. If your parents want to come back out, they're more than welcome, but again, I'm leaving that up to you," he said. Getting irritated, I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I love how you tell me what we're doing, but yet make it sound like I have a say in the matter," I said as I sat up straight.

"Are you really going to start a fight?" he asked, getting annoyed.

"No, I'm just stating a fact. You said we're going to your parents' for Thanksgiving, and that we're staying here for Christmas, but pointed out that I had some say as to whether or not my parents come. I know you're practically living here, but this is still my house and you have absolutely no right to say who is and isn't welcome here, " I said as he glared at me.

"Don't be a bitch about this. It's a simple yes or no."

"I don't have a problem with it, I just want you to say it differently."

"Do you want to go to my parents' house for Thanksgiving?" he asked as I nodded my head at him.

"Yes, thank you. That would be fine."

"Would you like your parents there?"

"Sure, if they want to come."

"Can we stay here for Christmas?"

"That's fine and I'll see if my parents want to join us," I said with a smug smile.

"I would wipe that smile off your face. You and I both know that if I said someone wasn't welcomed here around our kids, they wouldn't be here," he said, giving me his smug smile.

"Our kids?"

"Yeah. I tell people all the time that I have three beautiful kids and an amazing girl at home. The four of you are my life. I love you all so much." I had never heard him say something so sincere.

"It's only been a month. How can you love us?"

"I've never felt this way about anyone, so it has to be love. Bella, I love you. I know you may never love me as much as you loved Mike, but I love you," he said as my eyes filled with tears.

"Edward, part of me loves you so much," I said as he pulled me into a hug. "I'm just still so scared."

"I know you are, baby, but I want it all with you," he said as he kissed me lightly.

"Let's go to bed," I said as I licked his lips. He scooped me up in his arms and made his way to our bed.

Like every time we were together, it was so gentle and loving. He kissed me until my lips were swollen and every inch of my neck was licked. He moved across my collar bone and nipped his way into the valley between my breasts. I loved the feel of his heated breath across my skin, and the goosebumps that arose wherever he touched. Slowly, he circled my nipple with the tip of his tongue, and then moved to do the same to the other side. Without leaving any part of my body untouched or kissed, he continued his assault on my already overloaded senses. His hands found purchase on my breasts as his teeth skimmed across the skin by my bellybutton. When he dipped his tongue inside, I let out a deep moan. I felt the intensity of his touch as his sculpted body continued to move lower until the weight of his body rested between my legs. I felt his moist breath on my heated core, and as he lowered his lips to me, my fingers threaded into his hair, holding him close. No words were needed when we were like this. Our bodies moved in unison, speaking volumes in the language of love. After several minutes, I felt the coil tightening in my stomach, and the gush of desire as it flowed from me. Edward kissed his way down to my toes, and as he made his way back up, he wrapped my legs around his body. Once my most intimate parts were next to his, he nestled deep into me, never once breaking eye contact. I didn't need to hear his words of love; I could feel every bit of it as he deeply seated himself into me. Pressed deep within, he allowed me time to adjust to him as he kissed me fully on the lips. With my hands gripping the skin on his back, he pressed his forehead to mine and maintained eye contact as he rocked his body in and out of mine. Using my legs that were wrapped around his body, I met him movement for movement and felt the tense ridges of his flesh under my fingertips. As we moved together, it no longer felt like we were separate beings; we had finally joined together as one. As we both simultaneously reached our climax, I couldn't help but think that there was nothing in this world that could compare to the intensity of feelings I was having in that moment.

Yeah, I was head over heels for that man. He made me feel things that I had never felt before. I wanted to tell him that I loved him, but I thought it was too soon. Part of me felt like I was betraying Mike, but I knew he would want me to move on and be happy again, and I finally thought I was ready to. It was time to start the next chapter of my life.

Life went by so fast, that I couldn't have told you left from right. My parents came for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and they loved it. Charlie and Renee adored the Cullen family, and said that I was lucky to have them in my life. Having my parents' approval meant a lot to me. Carlisle and my dad seemed to get along like old college buddies, while Esme and my mother quickly became best friends. I was honestly happy to be moving on, and I knew my parents were happy for me. They could even see the closeness between Edward and the kids. For the first time in three years, I felt like I was right where I was supposed to be.

It was probably one of the most memorable Christmases I had ever had. Edward was very extravagant with the presents. He wanted to get each of the kids little four wheelers. I told him no, but of course he didn't listen. Christmas Eve, after the kids were in bed, he made a phone call. Sure as shit, Emmett showed up with three kid wheelers on the back of his truck a little while later. I glared at the men as they carried them into the house.

"Cullen kids get the best of everything. Get used to it," Emmett said as he patted me on the back. I found it a little overwhelming that everyone thought of my kids as Cullens. They weren't, though, nor were they ever going to be. Unfortunately, I had this nagging feeling that my kids legally becoming Cullens, was going to come up again. I would probably back down on a lot of things, but this wouldn't be one of them. My kids would always be Newtons.

At five o'clock in the morning on Christmas day, I was woken up by Edward tossing and turning. He finally climbed out of bed and went to the bathroom, and when he came back, he added and an extra bounce to the bed. I knew he was trying to wake me up.

"If you bounce one more time, I'm kicking you out of bed," I said in a very tired voice.

"Can we wake up the kids?" he asked, making me groan.

"No," I grumbled.

"Do you smell coffee?"

"Yeah, my dad is probably up already. Go talk to him and leave me alone," I said with a yawn.

"I wanna be up to see the kids faces. I'm so excited," he said as he smothered my body with his. "Merry Christmas, baby. I love you." He kissed my neck and snuggled closer to me as we heard a light knock on the door. Edward jumped out of bed like there was fire and ran to open it. "Oh," I heard him say with disappointment.

"I made coffee if you guys want some," Renee said.

"Bella won't get out of bed," Edward whined. I flipped over and covered my head with a pillow. I heard some shuffling, but no voices. I thought he had gone to have coffee with my parents, but I was sorely mistaken.

"Well, we couldn't sleep anymore, so we're up. Bella has always been one to sleep a lot, though. One Christmas, we ended up waking her up at eight, and she still didn't seem ready to get up," Renee said.

"Oh my fucking god! It is five o'clock in the goddamn morning. The kids won't be up for at least another hour. Please, let me have that hour!" I begged as I lifted my head to see them.

"Please baby? I'm so excited!" Edward said, looking at me with pathetic, puppy dog eyes.

"Ugh, fine! Go make my coffee and I will be right out," I said as Edward kissed me hard on the lips.

"I will flip the whole bed if I don't see you in the kitchen in five minutes," Edward said, smacking my ass before he left the room. I mumbled an 'I hate you' when I heard the door click shut.

Once I was in the kitchen, Edward handed me my coffee. Even my father was chipper, and he wasn't a morning person. After I had a cup of coffee in my system, I was still tired, so I went to lay on the couch. The moment I closed my eyes, I felt a little body snuggle up next to me.

"Can I lay with you mommy?" Rach asked when she was comfortable.

"Yes, but you have to be quiet or Edward will make us get up," I said as she giggled.

"Mikey keeps hitting the wall," she said with a pout.

"If we stay really quiet, no one will bothers us," I promised as she snuggled closer to me.

"Mommy, Santa came," she said in a quiet voice.

"He did, and it looks like you were extra good this year," I said, frowning as she moved off the couch. "I thought we were going to go back to sleep?"

"What's this?" she asked, pointing to the bright pink four wheeler.

"Merry Christmas, Princess," Edward said from the door way. "That's a four wheeler. You can sit on it and drive it around."

"That's cool," she said with a big smile. She stared at all the presents, and I could see her excitement growing. "We were extra good!"

"Do I get morning hugs and kisses?" Edward asked with open arms. Rachel giggled and ran for him. I watched as he picked her up and she hugged him tight. Edward puckered his lips for a kiss and she placed her hands on each of his cheeks. She gave him a loud kiss that made both of us laugh.

"I love you this much," she told him, opening her arms as wide as they would go.

"Well, I love you this much," he said as he kissed her all over her face. After her giggle fit was over, I saw her whisper something in Edward's ear. He nodded his head yes, and then sat in the chair that faced the doorway. A minute later, I heard little feet running down the hallway.

"Mema, Papa, present time!" Rachel yelled.

Jake and Mikey both jumped for joy when they all saw the presents. Hearing every squeal, 'oh my god', 'this is awesome', and 'I can't believe it', made my heart melt. My kids were so happy. Once all the presents were opened, Edward got down on one knee in front of me. My heart started pounding out of my chest.

"Bella, you and your children have made my life complete. I love you so much, and telling you just isn't enough. I would love it very much if you would be my wife," he said as he opened the ring box. I tried to look at the ring, but my eyes were too filled with tears to make out what it looked like. I quickly looked at my parents, who were nodding their heads yes. The kids climbed on the couch with me and looked at the ring.

"I want one!" Rachel said, making me laugh.

"If you get married, will that make you our step-dad?" Jake asked.

"I've always wanted a dad!" Rachel said with a squeal. "Edward will be my daddy!" Edward smiled proudly. I looked over at Mikey, who looked so sad it nearly broke my heart. This should have been one of the happiest moments of my life, but it was more bittersweet.

"Is it okay if I marry Edward?" I asked him with a broken voice.

"I had a dream about this. I saw daddy, and he told me everything would work out and to say yes. I just miss him," Mikey said as I pulled him into a hug while he cried.

"I miss him too, but it's okay to move on. He will always be your dad no matter what, okay?" I held him so tight that I was sure he couldn't breath, but he didn't complain and hugged me back just as tight. I was sobbing like a baby, and even heard a sniffle or two from my mom.

"You have to say yes," Mikey whispered to me. That made me laugh.

I looked to Edward, who was holding Rach and Jake on his lap while he watched Mikey and I with a small smile on his face. I simply nodded my head 'yes' at him, and he placed the ring on my finger. He moved closer to the two of us and he kissed Mikey on the head before kissing me on the lips.

"I love you," I said to Edward for the first time. Edward's smile grew, and he kissed me three more times.

"Let me up. You guys are gross!" Mikey said as he lightened up the emotional moment.

"I love you, Bella; don't ever doubt that," Edward said as he held my face in his hands.

"I love you, too," I said as he kissed me again.

I was moving on and it felt great...

* * *

><p>So, did you like it? Best way to get a hold of me is on facebook and the link is on my profile. Also take a look at my blog for a pic of Bella's engagement ring! That link is also on my profile.<p>

I haven't done this in a while, but I have to rec some pretty great people out!

Toocute24

teamalltwilight

krazi4twisaga

carano

mersedez2001

soaymayhem

welcometomyworld

vampgirl79

If you need something to read, I'm sure you will find something from any of these amazing writers!


	9. Chapter 9

As soon as the news broke that Edward and I were getting married, the wedding planning began. I didn't want anything huge, but weddings seemed to be pretty big in his family. This was his first marriage, so I agreed to do things their way. We were getting married on the most cliched day of the year: Valentine's day. I didn't understand the rush, but it was what Edward wanted. What Edward wants, Edward gets; no one ever tells Edward no.

I wasn't sure if I was just getting nervous about getting married, or moving forward with Edward, but I had this feeling that I was constantly being watched. Every once in a while, I would look over my shoulder, but I never saw anything or anyone. Edward told me that I was being crazy and to just ignore it, but I'm sorry; if I feel like someone is watching me, I'm not going to just ignore it. After a few days of that feeling, it finally went away.

Alice became my best friend all of a sudden as well. She was helping me every step of the way with the wedding. Okay, that's a lie . . .she was doing it all and I was simply doing as I was told. Alice was pretty cool once I got to know her and we hung out quiet a bit. However, whenever Edward was around, she became the biggest bitch I had ever met in my life. It was some kind of sibling rivalry and I was staying out of it.

The wedding party itself was small, but the guest list was huge. I invited ten people. Edward invited a hundred and thirty. I asked him if he knew that many people and he said yes. He said most of them were family. I called bullshit and asked Esme. She confirmed that the number was right. Esme had seven siblings, and Carlisle had eight, plus all of their kids and grandkids. The family was ridiculous in size. Just like any other Cullen family event, everything had to be extravagant. Our wedding cake was four tiers tall and absolutely beautiful. All the decorations were black and white, and everything was very formal. My dress was perfect, and I loved it. It was a strapless dress with a huge train. The top of the dress was form fitting, and there were black flowers embroidered around my breasts and down the small of my back. The whole bottom of the train had the flowers that came a little ways up the side of the dress. It was amazing, and I felt like a princess every time I wore it. Tori and Rachel had matching dresses: black with a white ribbon around the waist.

I asked Tori to be my maid of honor because she was the closest thing I had to a best friend. She seemed excited about standing up for me, and has been a huge help with the preparations. It was her idea for the black and white wedding. She also designed the cake. Planning my wedding brought us even closer together.

Edward pissed me off when he told Tori I would no longer be taking care of Seth. I told him it was none of his business whose child I watched. I still planned on getting Seth on the bus. I only had him for two hours a day, so it wasn't really a problem for me to keep watching him. I did however, tell Paul that they would have to find someone else because I didn't want to babysit full time. I was sad to see Lilli go, but it was for the best. Cash was going to be a once-in-a-while thing now, since he was going to be my nephew. I couldn't really tell family no, but I knew I wouldn't accept any money from Alice for watching him. My kids started spending one weekend a month with my parents, and they loved it.

Edward wasn't home as often anymore, and even went away one weekend. I missed him like crazy. Rachel had started calling him daddy every chance she got, and he glowed with happiness each time the word was spoken. I knew Mikey would probably never call him dad, but I did see Jake picking up the habit. I tried to not let it bother me too much, because of the fact that they never knew their father and Edward was going to be the closest thing they would have. I couldn't bring myself to refer to Edward as 'dad,' though. Whenever I spoke of him to the kids, I would use his name.

As soon as we were engaged, Edward wanted to put my house up for sale. He said we needed something bigger. I told him that I wanted to wait a little longer, but of course he told me no. Apparently, luck was on my side, though, because Edward couldn't find anything fitting. I was glad; I wasn't ready to part with my house quite yet.

On one of the few nights that Edward made it home for dinner, the kids were all in moods. Rachel was being a whiny ass, Mikey was being mean, and Jake was tattling on every little thing. To top it all off, I was PMS'ing, so it wasn't a happy house. As soon as Edward walked inside, I went into attack mode. It didn't help that I had already been asleep by the time he got home for three nights straight.

"Hey, baby," he said, smacking me in the ass and kissing my cheek.

"Ow! Don't fucking hit me," I said as I glared at him.

"I smack that ass all the time. What the fuck is your problem?" he asked.

"Nice of you to come home and have dinner with us," I said, making him laugh.

"Mom! Rach is picking her nose!" Jake yelled as Rachel started to cry.

"Who cares! You eat your burgers!" Mikey half yelled.

"You're mean!" Rachel cried, and then I heard a slap.

"Welcome to fatherhood! Now go take care of them; my throat hurts from yelling so much today," I said as the fighting continued. I listened and heard Edward try to stay calm while he attempted to get the kids to stop fighting. After five minutes, I knew he was getting mad.

"That's it!" Edward yelled as I heard him turn the TV off. "No TV for the rest of the night, and no X-Box, either! I have never seen the three of you act so bad! Sit down, Rachel Marie," he said, making me chuckle. He was pulling out middle names, now. As soon as I heard Rachel start to cry, I hoped that he could stick to his guns. "Rachel, crying doesn't bother me, so knock it off. I don't want to hear a word out of any of you until after dinner," he said in a final tone. I took a deep breath when the house fell silent. He walked back into the kitchen and I was pretty sure he was looking for a 'thank you'.

"Not bad, huh? I think I've got this daddy stuff down," he said with pride in his voice.

"We'll see how long it lasts," I replied as I started to mash the potatoes.

"Okay, I see you are going to be a bitch for the rest of the night, so I am going to take a shower," he said as he stormed out of the kitchen. I wasn't in the mood to deal with anything, let alone him.

As soon as I heard the water in the shower start, the kids started fighting again. After an entire afternoon of fighting, I'd had enough. I went into the living room and popped them each on the butt before I made them sit down, nowhere near each other. I think they were more upset that I told them they couldn't have dessert, than they were over the spanking. Needless to say, I didn't hear a peep out of any of them.

"Why do they all look like they're crying?" Edward asked as I set the table.

"Because I spanked them," I said as he wiped his head toward the living room.

"What did I tell you?" he said to the kids, who wouldn't look at him. "What's up with them today?"

"These days happen often," I said with an eye roll.

"You can stop being a bitch to me any time," he said.

"Edward, I haven't seen you three days. The kids have been awful, and then you come sweeping in, waiting for me to . . . what? Throw myself at you and be all happy you're here? Get the fuck over yourself!" I said as I glared at him.

"Are you ragging?" he asked. I hated when he spoke to me like that.

"Fuck you!" I said between clenched teeth.

"Daddy?" Rachel asked with a hiccup.

"What?" he asked, looking away from me.

"I gotta go potty," she said, looking at him with red-rimmed eyes.

"You always have to go potty when you're in trouble," Mikey said in the nastiest tone.

"Michael, you are in your room after dinner," Edward quickly snapped at him. "Go to the bathroom and then sit right back down. I'm timing you," he said to Rachel.

"Love you, Daddy," she said as she skipped down the hall.

"She is too fucking cute," Edward said as I hid my smile. I knew he was trying to stick to his guns, but Rachel could make the toughest man cave to her will.

I made each of the kids a plate, and we ate mostly in silence. We were all moody, so Edward said we all had to go to bed right after dinner. Of course, that made Rachel cry. It seemed like all she had done was cry the day away. Once we were all finished with dinner, Edward stuck to his word and made the kids get ready for bed. Rach even tried the, 'but Daddy, I love you', speech. Edward did really well in handling them. He really did take a lot of the stress off of me. As soon as I finished the dishes, I felt his arm snake around my waist. All he did was hug me and I started to melt, my anger fading somewhat. I didn't want him to think all he had to do was hug or kiss me and everything would be okay, though. Apparently the rest of me disagreed and his antics worked. All I wanted to do was snuggle with him and let him love me all night.

"I've missed you," he whispered in my ear. "I love you so much, baby. Please forgive me for not being here. I've just been so busy lately. I'm still getting used to this whole family thing," he said as he laid his cheek on the top of my head.

"It's just been a horrible day, and I hate spanking the kids, but they were awful today," I said as I started crying.

"Awe, there is my sweet girl," he said, turning me around and pulling me into his chest. "Are you bleeding?"

"Gross! Please don't talk to me like that," I said, pulling away from him. He always knew how to ruin a pretty great moment.

"Well, you either are or it's coming," he said, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"It's coming . . . probably tomorrow," I said, shaking my head at him.

"I need to get me some now, then," he said as he picked me up bridal style and carried me to our room. And just like that, all my problems melted away.

EPOV

"Can't believe she said yes," Emmett said as he punched me in the arm. "Although Rose wants a new ring, now."

"She is one greedy bitch," I said as I poured myself some brandy.

"Whatever. As long as she isn't bitching at me, I don't give a fuck," he said. "So . . . you going to tell her the truth?"

"After we're married," I said as I sat down. "How did Rose take it when you told her?"

"She asked me if I was stupid. Somehow she knew all along," Emmett said with a shrug.

"I know Bella is going to flip."

"She'll get over it. They all do," my dad said. "Your mother tried to kill me, and Bella reminds me a lot of her, so good luck with that one. I slept with my gun for months," he said with a chuckle.

"I don't think she'll try to kill me," I said shaking my head.

"She's a mother, Edward, and mothers protect their families at all costs." Shit, Bella was going to try to kill me.

"Has she said anything about the bodyguard you have on her?" Emmett asked.

"No. She stopped with that shit, thank god. She was driving me crazy!" The first day Liam started, she was like 'someone is watching me'. She had some pretty good instincts about everything but me. I wondered how she was so perceptive of someone following her. Lima was the best and if he didn't want to be seen, he wouldn't. Part of me felt bad, but I loved her, and there was no way I was letting her go. I knew I had my work cut out for me as soon as she found out about my family.

* * *

><p>This chapter was on the shorter side, but things heat up in the next chapter. I just wanted to show how they were becoming a family.<p>

This is it for the year. I will post again on January 2nd!

Thanks to the best three women in the world for all the help that they give me! They have become such amazing friends and I'm one lucky bitch to have them in my life! The group of ladies on my fb group page are amazing! You all make my day!

You know where to find me, but if not there are links on my profile! I know I said last week that I would update my blog, but I didn't. It will be done today. You will get to see Bella's ring and wedding dress!

I love your reviews so keep them coming!


	10. Chapter 10

BPOV

My wedding was flawless. I was so happy and the kids were so good the entire day. I could barely make it through my vows, but I somehow managed. I was so in love with Edward. The best part of the whole day was when the minster said 'you may kiss the bride'. Edward and I kissed and Rachel jumped up and down yelling, 'I really have a daddy'! The whole place irrupted in laughter as Edward picked her up and hugged her tight.

Our reception was so much fun. The food was great, and the cake turned out beautiful. We danced...a lot. Edward was horrible at dancing, but it didn't matter; we danced like no one was watching. When he removed the garter from my leg, I felt him brush against my pussy while he was down there. At that point, he knew I was ready for him whenever we had the chance. We smushed cake into each other's faces, just so we had a reason to lick each other. I was pretty sure we made some people pretty sick with all of our lovey-dovey bull, but I didn't care. My mom and Esme left early with all the grandkids, while the rest of us partied 'til the early morning. Edward and I agreed not to get fall-down-drunk, and I was proud to say we didn't.

Alice and Jasper gave us a honeymoon suite at the Four Seasons for a wedding gift. As soon as we stumbled into the hotel room, we were all over each other. We didn't even make it to the bedroom before he was inside me. We stripped ourselves naked, and he bent me over the couch. He fucked me so hard, as he smacked my ass with force. My legs were wet all the way to my ankles from my arousal. Once we had a nice hard fuck, we made out like teenagers until we were in the bedroom. There was a big fluffy bed with rose petals shaped as a heart. It was pretty, and I was a little sad that we were just going to throw them on the floor. We laid in the bed and he cover my naked body with his own. He was my husband and he had to be hottest man alive. I was pretty sure he was too good to be true, but I was glad he was mine.

"I love you, Mrs. Cullen," he whispered in my ear. My body broke out in cold chills. "Thank you for spending the rest of your life with me."

"I love you, Mr. Cullen, and I don't want anyone else," I said as he kissed me.

His kisses were so passionate. The feel of his tongue in my mouth or on my lips...I couldn't think when it happened. There were no words for the way he made me feel. Just the feel of his hands on my body could probably bring me to orgasm. The way his fingers would graze my arm and breasts, made me ache for him. Even when I touched him, my body would shiver. He was so hard, but soft at the same time, and I loved to touch him. I loved to run my nails up and down his back and legs, and I knew he loved it as much as I did. Some nights when we were in bed, he would lay on my chest so I could scratch his back until he fell asleep. I needed to be next to Edward, and I couldn't explain the way I felt when I was away form him. I needed him like I needed air. After sweet and gentle love making, we slept the day away.

We ended up waking up with headaches, but it was worth it.

It took me a while to get use to writing Cullen as my last name. When I married Mike, I had been writing Isabella Newton for years by then. I had a dream about Mike one night; he was just standing there smiling at me. It made me feel like he was watching over us, and letting me know that everything was okay. I always tried to believe in happy thoughts, and Mike was still my happy. When a day had me down, I would think of his smiling face and I felt better for a little while. I found myself thinking of Mike a lot. He was home every night, while Edward wasn't. He was in our bed every night, yet Edward wasn't. He was there to play with the boys, but Edward wasn't. Edward was a lot of things, but he wasn't a great husband. As a lover, he was phenomenal, but I felt like we didn't have the closeness that I wanted. To be honest, Edward and I were still getting to know one another. We knew a lot, but things changed once you were married. For the most part, though, he did call or text if he wasn't going to be home, so that made me feel a little better; at least I knew he was trying. Rachel even called him out about him not being home all the time.

"Daddy, why are you only home two days?" she asked sweetly.

"I get busy, baby. Daddy owns a lot of businesses, and that takes up a lot of my time," he said as she stared at him blankly.

"Do you love your job?" she asked innocently as I smiled.

"I do. It makes me a lot of money," he said with a smile.

"Oh, is that why you love your job better, 'cause it gives you money?" she asked with so much curiosity.

"I love you more than I love my job," Edward explained. I could see in his eyes that he felt bad.

"If I give you money, will you read me a book?" she asked as I covered my mouth. I had to hold back the laugh that so badly wanted out.

"Rachel, you don't have to give me money," he said, shaking his head.

"But Uncle Emmy gave you money and you stayed with him for a long time. I waited and waited, but then I went and played," she said as I raised an eye brow. Why would Emmett be giving Edward money?

"Rachel, I will read you a story tonight. I do not want your money."

"But last time she asked, you said you couldn't because you needed to make money," Mikey said. "You said you didn't have time for us."

"You three are children, and you do not need to be involved in adult conversations. Yes, I have been busy, but I will do my best to be home more. Can we please stop?" he asked, annoyed.

"I just miss you," Rach said as her bottom lip started to tremble.

"Don't cry," Edward said as he rubbed her back. "Let's finish dinner and then we can play a game or something before bed, okay?" That seemed to win all the kids over. I wouldn't allow myself to feel bad for him. He needed to know how the kids were feeling.

That night, he played a memory game with the three of them as I cleaned the kitchen. He made sure they all brushed their teeth, and then he read them a story. That night, he talked about how bad he felt. I told him that he needed to see them at least once a day. I explained that he was their father figure now, and they weren't going to understand that he needed to work crazy hours. Kids didn't care about those kinds of things. They thought money came from the bank.

As the weeks went on, Edward tried harder, and we were all happier because of it. For some reason though, Edward started leaving in the middle of the night and not coming home until the kids were off to school. Whenever I asked him what he was doing, he would just say 'working' or that 'something's come up'. I knew something more was going on, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Even our weekly Sunday dinners had shifted. I think everyone saw the tension between Edward and I. There was nothing I could do if he didn't talk to me about it.

On the Sunday that changed my life, I was sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee with the other women, while the men had their meeting. I asked if it was normal for the husbands to just get up a leave. I got a funny feeling when they all said yes. Right then, I knew something was wrong.

"Mommy, I need you," Mikey said, looking scared. I excused myself and went to the living room with him. I was glad that the room was empty. "Royce is telling stories."

"What kind of stories?"

"He said Emmett came home with blood all over his shirt. He told me he was watching from the crack in his door," Mikey explained as my eyes grew big.

"Honey, I think he was just trying to scare you," I said to him, doing my best to soothe him.

"He said Rose took his clothes and he saw her go outside. There is a burning bin out there, and she put them in and lit them on fire," he said, leaning in close to me. "Cash and Royce both said their daddies carry guns in their pants, too."

"Go get the kids and we will go home. Just don't say anything, okay?" I asked as I kissed his head. As I made my way back to the kitchen, I heard Rose call me stupid.

"How can she not know? She knows something is going on. Next thing you know, she is going to be crying to us, saying that she thinks he's cheating on her! What the fuck are we going to tell her? 'Oh don't be silly!'? I will look right at her and tell her that her oh so sweet Edward is part of the mob," Rose said as I froze. How did I not know? I brought my kids into this? I moved way too fast. I needed to get my kids out of that house, and I needed to do it now.

"Grab your shoes and coats and run to the car," I said with a smile. "You can step in every mud puddle you see along the way."

"What about daddy?" Rachel asked.

"Uncle Emmy is bringing him home," I said as I opened the door and shoved them out.

I grabbed my purse and shut the door as quietly as I could. My heart was racing, and I felt like I was going to pass out. Mikey went straight to the car and helped the other two get buckled in. I placed my suitcase purse on the hood of the car and searched for my keys. In that moment, I wished for a smaller purse. Just as I found them and started for the car door, I heard my name being called.

"Bella, what's wrong?" Alice called as I jumped in the car. As soon as the car was running, I threw it in drive and beat feet the fuck out of there. I heard my phone ringing off the hook about three minutes into the drive.

"Mommy, I'm sleepy," Rach said as I smiled.

"Rest your eyes then," I said as I looked in the rear view mirror, noticing Mikey's worried face.

"Everything's cool, Mikey," I said as he gave me a small smile. The kid was too smart for his own good.

I was going to drive straight to Forks, but I didn't want to bring my parents into this mess. On the other hand, I wanted to keep my kids safe. I would have gone to Tori's, but I knew Edward would look there first. At that moment, I wished I had some place to go that Edward didn't know about. I would just divorce him and act like I didn't know anything. That was the only thing I could do. I would go back to Forks and find a job. I knew I would have my mom to help me. Giving up all hope of hiding, I went home. When I put the kids to bed, Jake and Rachel fell right to sleep. Mikey was tossing and turning.

"Mikey, everything is okay, I promise," I said to him.

"I'm sacred," he said with tears in his eyes.

"I would never let anything happen to you. If I thought we were in danger, I would run away with you, but we are home, and we are safe, okay?"

"Why did we leave so soon?"

"I didn't feel good and I wanted to go to bed. I made sure Edward had a way home. Sorry I scared you," I said kissing his forehead.

I wanted to cry, knowing I was feeding my kid a bunch of bullshit. Once Mikey settled down, I headed out to the living room. I paced for a little bit and then checked my phone. I had a ton of missed calls and texts. I was going to read some of the messages, when I heard the front door. My heart started to pound rapidly again, and I had to sit.

"Why did you leave me?" Edward asked, throwing his hands in the air. All I could do was stare at him as my breathing picked up.

"You, Edward Cullen, are the biggest piece of shit on the face of this planet," I said. My voice didn't even sound like my own; I almost scared myself with my tone.

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><p>Well, I guess it wouldn't be me if I didn't end with a cliffy! There will be another update next Monday and I will do a teaser on facebook before the update. There are links on my profile to reach me.<p>

Thanks to my girls for all the help they give me! I love them all!


	11. Chapter 11

EPOV

My father wouldn't stop talking. I was so tired. Bella had been on my ass about not being home much, and when I was home, Rachel was always so clingy. I loved that little girl to death, but...I just didn't know how to be a father sometimes. I did as Bella asked, and tried to see them every day, but I was part of the family business full time now - that meant more time away from Bella and the kids. The family shit was pretty hard, and I really didn't think it was going to be. I knew Bella was growing suspicious when I started having to leave in the middle of the night. I wanted to tell her this was something new for me, too, but I didn't.

I needed to find time to tell Bella that I was now a full time mobster. I knew she was going to hate me, but it wouldn't last. I would make her love me again. I would show her that our lifestyle isn't as bad as it seems. I grew up in it and I turned out fine. Alice, I think, is an amazing person. Nothing bad happened to me or anyone I knew while I was growing up. I mean, my uncle was killed, but that is just part of the job. It could happen.

When we had our Sunday meetings, the women never bothered us. None of them cared about what we talked about, or what was going to happen next. My father told me never to tell Bella anything about the job or the work I do. Most of the wives knew that their husbands were in the mob, but that was it. They didn't want to know anything else, and that was the best way to be. That was how they were protected. It threw all of us off when there was a frantic knock at the door. A couple of the guys went for their guns.

"Edward!" Alice yelled threw the door. My father called out for her to come in.

"What's wrong?" I asked as soon as I saw her.

"Bella just left. She peeled out of the driveway. I called her name, and when she saw me, she couldn't get away from me fast enough. Mikey called her away a few minutes before she left, and he looked scared. Then she never came back to the kitchen," Alice said as her eyes filled with tears.

I quickly pulled out my cell and started calling her. She wouldn't answer. I tried to text her, but she didn't respond. She knew - somehow, she _knew_. I had no clue where she would have gone. I had a feeling she was already on her way to Forks, or to Tori's house. Emmett offered to take me to Tori's, so I quickly agreed. I was so nervous the entire time we drove. I didn't know how to talk to her about this. After going by Tori's and seeing that Bella wasn't there, I told Emmett to take me home. I knew I needed to get my own car and head to Forks.

"She's home," Emmett said as we approached my house. "Maybe she doesn't know."

"I don't know why she would have left me."

"Maybe she thought the office was off limits to her," Emmett said. That was possible, but then why would she run away from Alice? "I'll see you later. Just do anything you have to, to make her understand."

I knew what I had to do. She could never leave, and it was as simple as that. I knew I had to do and say anything to make her stay; even if she hated me...

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><p>BPOV<p>

"You, Edward Cullen, are the biggest piece of shit on the face of this planet."

"Well, I think you need to tell me why," he said, glaring at me.

"You...you should've told me! I have kids and now they are in danger because of you! I want a divorce. I won't say anything, I won't talk to anyone, and I will leave tomorrow. Just please..."

"That can't happen," he said with a shrug.

"It has to!"

"You are stuck with me for the rest of our lives. I need to know what you know so I can explain," he said, trying to hold my hands.

"Don't touch me. You're a fucking murder!" I said as he flinched back slightly.

"It's not like that. Bella, I love you and you need to talk to me. Do you want to go lay down in bed and talk?" he asked sweetly.

"NO! I do not want to lye next to you! I don't want you to touch me or my kids ever again! You have been saying for months now how much you love us, and then you bring us into the mob? You don't do that to the people you love," I said as I started to cry.

"Baby, there is so much you don't know. I know I should have talked to you sooner, but we are so great..."

"I hate you," I hissed at him. "You have been lying to me since day one. This was why you wanted to get married so quickly, isn't it?" I asked as my tears fell.

"Baby, I needed to be married or I was out. Anything and everything I say is going to come out wrong," he said, putting his face in his hands.

"Just tell me," I said giving up for the moment.

"I needed to be married by thirty-five. I never thought I would marry for love, but I love you so much. I'm not sorry I married you," he said.

"Why didn't you give me a choice?"

"You couldn't know until we were married."

"Alice tried to tell me," I said out loud to myself.

"She hates me for this, too," he said as if it was going to make it better. "Our lifestyle is why she didn't want to be your friend. She wanted you to have zero involvement with us. The day she asked me to pick up Cash, she only asked because there was no one else. She told me to get in get out. To 'leave Bella alone,'" he said with a chuckle. "I thought she was crazy, but as soon as I saw you, there was no turning back for me."

"You should have walked away. I have kids that have no choice in this! Why didn't you find someone who was single? I can't stay married to you," I said as I started to pace.

"Baby, you can't leave me. You're in this family forever, there is no getting out," he said calmly. "The kids will never know anything. You are all safe. All the janitors at the school are our men, and everyone has a bodyguard," he said as I cried more.

"That's why I felt someone watching me," I said, talking to myself again. "I'm leaving in the morning."

"You CAN'T!" He half yelled.

"I can do whatever I want!"

"You don't get it. You. Can. Not. Leave."

"I. Hate. You."

"Well, I love you," he said as we glared at each other.

"I'll go to the cops," I said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"That will just sign your death warrant," he said, making me gasp.

"You would kill me?"

"I wouldn't, but someone would," he said seriously. I sat back down and laid my head against the back of the couch. "Bella, I really do love you." All that did was make me cry more.

"You are the most selfish human I have ever met. If you love me, please let me leave. I need to get my kids away from your family," I said as he sat close to me.

"Baby, you don't understand. You can't leave. They will make me bring you back. I'm sorry you are so sad, but please just give me a chance to show you how good life can be," he said, trying to cuddle me. "Give me a chance."

"My kids could get hurt. You could die. Why would you do that to me?" I asked. He knew how I felt about death.

"Our babies will not be hurt. They are my kids now, too. If I thought any of you would get hurt, I would have never brought you into this. I love you, Bella. Isn't that enough to make you stay with me?" he asked as I looked away from him.

"Stand up and take your coat off," I said as I looked back at his face.

"Why?"

"Just do it," I snapped at him. He gave me the most deadly look, but did what I asked. That was when I saw his gun.

"I lock it up whenever I'm home," he said as if it was no big deal.

"I may not be able to leave, but we are over. Don't hug me, kiss me, touch me, or even mutter the words 'I love you' to me. You don't love me and you never have. If you did, you never would have put me or my kids in this situation," I said as I wiped away some tears.

"Ha, you are my wife! I will do whatever I want to you."

"Like hell you will!"

"I see you are going to be a hard-headed bitch, so let me put it this way: we _will_ share a bed and we _will_ have sex whenever we want. We will touch and kiss in front of our kids like nothing has changed. If you leave, I will find you," he said as his green eyes burned holes into me.

"Fine. If you get to demand how things go, than so do I. Don't think I am ever going to your parents' house ever again. Don't think I will ever enjoy sex with you again, either. Don't think my kids are stupid, because Mikey already knows something is up. He knows all the daddies carry guns in their pants and that the daddies come home with blood on their clothing and that the mommies burn the bloody clothes. Don't think I will ever do that for you," I said as we glared at one another.

"How does he know all of that?"

"Children are not stupid. They know better than anyone how to not be seen or heard. Kids notice shiny things. When Cash was playing with Rachel before, I watched as he stuck a play gun in his pants. I thought he saw it in a movie or something," I said as Edward looked away from me. "I will never trust you again…ever."

I was done with the conversation. I needed time to think. I went to my room and ran a bath; I needed to be alone to get my thoughts in order. I couldn't believe I opened my heart and soul to a man who did nothing more than deceive and trick me. I was so broken from losing Mike, and then Edward just swooped in and took advantage of my hurt and pain. I let him, trusted him, and I gave him all of the love I had inside of me. I never thought I would ever love again. I felt as if I had lost yet another great love in my life. Edward's lies and deceit were killing me from the inside out. I wondered to myself if he thought I would truly be okay with his life.

"Baby?" I heard Edward say from the other side of the door. When I didn't answer him, he walked in and crouched down by the tub. "I have to go, but I'll be back later. I hate doing this, but I have all of the car keys," he said as I closed my eyes and tried to ignore him. "Is there anything you want to talk about before I leave?" I still didn't say anything, but I had so much I wanted to say.

"Please don't bring my boys into your life. I read this book once, and mob people always have kids so they will carry on the name. I don't want this life for them, please! I beg you to never teach them that part of you," I said as he placed his hand on the side of my face.

"It will be their choice. No one has to join us," he said as I started to cry.

"But I didn't have a choice."

"I know," he said. It was the first time all night he sounded remorseful. "I love you," he said as he kissed my lips. He seemed upset when I didn't kiss him back. "If you need someone to talk to, call Alice. She will tell you anything you want to know."

"I have nothing to say to anyone in your family."

"They're your family, too."

"No, they aren't," I said as I heard the bathroom door shut.

I knew three things. First, Edward was in the mob, and I could never leave him. Second, I needed to protect my kids at all cost. Third, I was irrevocably in love with Edward and I hated myself for it.

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><p>Surprise! I am going to be busy tomorrow so I wanted to make sure you all got this update. Sssssso, what did you think? Let me know with a review because I love reviews and they keep me going. This story is doing amazing and I have all of you to thanks for that!<p>

Huge thanks go out to toocute24, teamalltwilight, and Siobhan for all the help they have giving me along the way. I love you girls and I am so grateful to have you in my life! I am so happy that you three have become such great friends as well.

Right now I am working on chapter 20 of this story and I think I may only have three chapters left to write! The next story I am going to post is going to be a drabble and I am hoping to have most of that written before I post. Right now I have forty some chapters, but there is so much more that needs to be told. OH! And did I tell you it is going to be a daddy story? Well, it is!

I post teasers on my facebook group; the link is on my profile. Facebook is the best way to talk to me if you would like.


	12. Chapter 12

Here is the next chapter I hope you all enjoy it! Thanks to my amazing team of women for helping me!

I own nothing but the plot!

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><p>I was so exhausted after my bath that I fell right to sleep. I didn't think I would able to, but I guess I was wrong. Edward must have come home sometime during the night, because when my alarm went off, I woke up to him holding me. I hated myself for liking it. After taking care of my morning needs, I went to wake up the boys to get them ready for school. Tori brought Seth over and he started making himself some breakfast. He was a very quiet kid. He told me all about a new video game his mom bought for him, and asked if he could bring it over the next morning to play with Mikey. His eyes lit up when I said yes.<p>

"Is daddy here?" Rachel asked, giving me a morning hug.

"He's sleeping. Just stay out here with me," I said as she pouted.

"I'm right here baby girl," Edward said as I flinched at his voice. "Morning," he said to me, kissing my temple. Rachel laid her head on his should as he held her. He got himself a cup of coffee and went to sit at the table with the boys as they ate their breakfast.

"Boys, are you bringing or buying?" I asked. They said they were buying their lunch, and I noticed that Mikey would not look at Edward.

"Edward, what's your job?" Jake asked him.

"I'm a business owner, why?"

"Can you come in and talk to my class? A lot of moms and dads are coming in," Jake said as I went through some paperwork that he had brought home. I found the career day paper and handed it to Edward.

"Yeah, I can do that," Edward said with a smile.

"Quil said you would say no because you're not my dad, but I told him that you would say yes," Jake said proudly.

"What kind of name is Quil?" Edward asked as Jake let out a belly laugh. I couldn't help the laugh that escaped my lips.

"That's what I said to him!" Jake said with another laugh.

"Jacob, you need to be nice to people," I said as he nodded his head in understanding.

"Mikey, you feeling okay?" Edward asked.

"I'm fine," he said, still not looking at his step-father.

I couldn't blame the kid; I didn't want to look at him either. Mikey brought his empty bowl to the kitchen and then headed for the bathroom to brush his teeth. Edward sat Rachel down before following after him. I knew he was going to try to make him feel better, and I hoped he did, because I knew I would never be able to - my emotions were always written on my face, and I knew I wouldn't be able to fool Mikey. I waited for a minute and then headed for the bathroom, too.

"I'm not mad at you," I heard Mikey say.

"Mommy told me about last night, Mikey. You have no reason to believe what the other kids say, okay?" Edward explained.

"I don't want you to carry a gun. Do you know they kill people?" Mikey asked as I covered my mouth. I thought for sure I was going to laugh.

"Don't worry about stuff like that," Edward said with a chuckle. "If you ever have any questions, you can ask me."

"Are you and mommy not going to be married anymore?"

"We aren't getting a divorce," Edward said. "We cool?"

"Yeah," Mikey said.

"I love you," Edward said. Mikey didn't say anything back to him. "Make sure you brush your teeth good." Edward walked out of the bathroom and rolled his eyes at me. "You don't have to check up on me."

"I just needed to make sure my son was okay."

"_Our_ son," Edward said, getting in my face. Not wanting a confrontation right now, I walked away from him. There was nothing I could really say or do with the kids around, anyway.

I had the boys off to school, and Rachel was playing and watching TV. Edward was just lounging around the house, and it was getting on my nerves. I was trying to straighten up the house and fold laundry from the day before.

"Baby girl," I said in a sing song voice that always made her giggle. "Do you want to drag your basket out here for me?"

"Yeah! Do you want me to bring your's and daddy's too?" she asked like the big little helper she was.

"I already have mine, and Edward can do his own laundry," I said. I went into my small laundry room and Edward was hot on my heals.

"Bella, stop. I fucking get it!" he said as I put my clothes into the washing machine.

"Don't you have someone to go kill?"

"Shut your mouth!" he snapped at me.

"Just leave and go do what you do every other day," I said in the snottiest tone I had ever given anyone.

"It's my day off," he said with a smug smile.

"You never have a day off," I said, glaring at him.

"My dad said to take care of my family. This is the hardest part," he said as I rolled my eyes.

"Here mommy," Rachel said in a strained voice. "Heavy!"

"Thanks, kiddo," I said as she smiled proudly. "Go get dressed, okay? We are going to store in a little while." She jumped for joy and ran off to her room.

"Where are we going?" Edward asked as I slammed the lid of the washer.

"_We_ aren't going anywhere. My daughter and I are going, so just fuck off!" I hissed as I walked away from him. I went to the bedroom and found clothes for the day. Edward followed like a lost puppy, and started getting dressed as well. I ignored him the best I could, and once I was ready, I turned to see Rachel was ready and standing by the door.

"Ready mommy," she said sweetly. "Daddy! Are you going too?"

"I am," he said scooping her up in his arms.

"Unbelievable," I said, shaking my head as Edward nudged me with his shoulder. "Go get buckled up," I said as Rach skipped to the car. Before I could follow her, Edward grabbed my arm and pulled me to him.

"You don't have to talk to me or look at me, but don't act like a bitch to me in front of our kids. This is the last time I am going to say it," he said letting go of me. I cleared my throat, hoping that I wouldn't start crying. "Where to, my ladies?"

"It's food day!" Rach said with way too much enthusiasm. Edward pulled out of the driveway and headed for the store.

"So, kiddo, what do you want for dinner?" I asked her as she pretended to braid her doll's hair.

"Something with french fries," she said matter-of-fact-ly.

"Okay, I know what I will make," I said with a smile.

"I could make some burgers on the grill," Edward offered.

"I got it, thanks," I said as he sighed.

"Babe, cut me some slack," he said almost desperately.

"You straight-face lied to me several times. I owe you nothing." He was quiet after that.

Edward drove me crazy all through the store. He kept trying to grab my ass, hold my hand, and kiss me the entire time we were there, and would get mad every time I moved away. On the way home, he asked Rachel if she wanted to go to Mema's house for the weekend, and she got all excited. I tried to say that I would go and stay with them, but of course Edward said that wasn't happening. He said we needed some alone time to talk. The last thing I wanted with him was alone time. What did he think would happen? That I would be okay with everything once we talked shit out? Nothing was going to make the situation better. No amount of talking was going to change the fact that Edward was in the mob.

After dinner was said and done, I hung out with the kids while Edward lurked in the background like a creeper. When I put the kids to bed, Mikey asked me to lay with him. I ended up falling asleep, but in the morning when I woke up, I was in my own bed. Edward was being too clingy for my liking. I needed space and time to think, and he wasn't giving me either.

My parents showed up on Friday to get the kids. I was sad to see them leave, but I was happy they weren't going to be home either. They were safe with my parents and away from the mobsters they now called family. I felt so stupid for making such a quick decision. Edward finally went off and did his own thing on Wednesday, but he called me constantly. Every day when he would leave, he would kiss me and then groan when I wouldn't pucker my lips. He told me he loved me a thousand times a day, too. I knew he loved me, but for me, his love didn't change anything. After the kids left, I called Edward and asked when he would be home. He said he still had a few hours, so I called Tori and asked if she wanted to get wings and beer; she said yes right away. After getting dolled up a bit, I headed over to Tori's. We walked to the little bar down the road and ordered two dozen wings and two beers. I pounded the first one back quick.

"Everything okay?" Tori asked.

"Yeah, just a stressful week," I told her as she nodded her head in understanding.

"So, I went out on a date this week," she told me as I smiled at her.

"How'd that go?"

"Awful! I'm a very educated person. I have gone to college and everything, but this guy used such words as...ugh, I can't even pronounce them. He was just so annoying," she said as I chuckled at her. "I'm starting to think that there is no one out there for me. You're lucky to have Edward," she said as I gave her a tight lipped smile. "Who's that guy over there? He keeps watching us." I looked over my shoulder and saw a huge man in his late thirties. It took it a minute for me to figure it out, but I had a feeling that _this man_ was my bodyguard.

"Another beer?" I asked as I turned back Tori.

"Hell yeah, and see if they have any wet naps," she said as I tried to wipe my fingers on a napkin. I headed over for the bar and stood right next to the big guy.

"You can go sit in your car," I said to him as he chuckled. "Two more, please," I said to the bartender. "You are creeping me out; you need to let me be."

"I'm just following orders, Mrs. Cullen," he said as he watched a TV overhead.

"Don't call me Mrs. Cullen. Do you tattle on me to Edward?" I asked as he looked at me.

"I don't tattle, I inform."

"Same thing. Finish your beer and leave," I said as I grabbed two bottles of beer.

"You are a feisty little thing," he said with a chuckle. "When I first started protecting you, I didn't understand why, but now I see you are going to be a challenge. My orders don't come from you, they come from Mr. Cullen."

"We'll see about that," I said. "At least tell me your name?"

"Liam."

When I got back to the table, Tori was playing twenty questions with me, but I was able to convince her that he said we just looked familiar and he was sorry for staring. Tori and I did our best, but we weren't able to finish all of our wings. As we sat and talked, I noticed that Liam got up and left. Just as he was walking out the door, I saw Edward and another guy walk in. Super. He ordered himself and his buddy a beer before they walked over to our table.

"Hey, baby," he said, kissing my cheek. "Tori, how's it going?"

"All's well with me. Who's your friend?" she asked, giving the other guy a flirty smile.

"Ladies, this is James. James, this is my wife, Bella, and our neighbor Tori. James just got back from New York," Edward said with a smile. I watched the way Tori and James looked at one another. I didn't want Tori to get involved with this guy.

"I gotta pee," I said as Tori stood. I stood too quickly and stumbled.

"How much have you had to drink?" Edward asked.

"Don't touch me," I said to him as I walked away.

"What was that all about?" Tori asked once we were in the bathroom.

"Nothing, I was hoping it would just be girl time and he comes with one of his stupid friends," I said.

"His friend is hot."

"Stay away from him."

"Why?"

"Just trust me."

"I need a reason."

"I can't give you one. Just...please trust me when I say he is bad news. If you go out with James or even just sleep with him, he will woo his way into your life and then ruin it," I said as I made eye contact with her.

"Edward has ruined your life?"

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><p>Hhmmm, I wonder what Bella is going to tell her? Well, I know, and my girls know, but you have to wait till next week! Thanks for all the reviews! This story is going amazing and I have loved writing it! I have this story all typed up. We are at the half way mark too!<p>

There are links on my profile as to where you can reach me!

In the words of Alice, 'show me the love!"


	13. Chapter 13

"Has Edward ruined your life?" Tori asked with concern in her eyes.

"Very much so, and I can't talk about it. Tori just trust me," I said as she nodded. "When we go back out there, James is going to sweet talk you and then he is going to try to worm his way into your life. Just don't let him."

"You need to tell me what is going on right now, because you are scaring me. You were so happy," Tori said as I looked down at my feet. I knew I couldn't tell her the truth, but then Alice's words came back to me.

"Things aren't always what they seem," I said to her as her eyes grew wide.

"Edward hits you?"

"NO! He doesn't hit me. After we got married, I found out about a family secret of his that I can't tell you. If you started dating James, he would pressure you to marry him before his thirty-fifth birthday. I bet you anything he is thirty-four," I said as she nodded. Once we were done with our bathroom stuff, we headed back to the table.

"So, what are you boys up to tonight?" Tori asked with a smile.

"Not much, sweetheart. Edward told me some really good things about you," James said, moving closer to her. She glared at him and then rolled her eyes. I had to laugh.

"My name is Tori, not sweetheart," she said as Edward chuckled. "You look kinda old for me anyway," she said as I bit my lip.

"I'm not that old. I'm thirty-four. I'll be thirty-five in October," he told her as she nodded.

"Awesome," she said with a fake smile. "Bells, I'm tired. Let's go and the boys here can stay and enjoy their beer," she said as I stood.

"What?" James asked. "We just got here! Have a beer with us."

"James, this is going to come off sounding like I am a complete bitch, but whatever. I get this weird vibe from you, and I have this urge to run away from you. So, yeah, I don't want to hang out with you now, or ever," she said as I smirked. She grabbed my hand and we headed for the door.

"That was the funniest shit," I said as we laughed.

"Did you see his face? He looked like I hit his puppy or something," she said, making us both laugh even harder. "How did you know he was thirty-four?"

"Lucky guess."

"Can I ask you something?" she asked, sounding completely serious.

"Yeah…"

"I've heard rumors about the Cullens. Someone once told me that they are involved with the mob. Now, I have this nagging feeling that those aren't just rumors," she said as she nudged me with her elbow.

"Why didn't you ever say anything to me about it?"

"Bella, I thought they were probably just rumors, and then when I saw Edward's eyes, I truly believed that they were."

"Edward's eyes?" I asked confused.

"If someone was to attack you, what would be one thing you would remember about him?" she asked as I nodded.

"His eyes," I said, looking at the ground.

"Thanks for warning me," she said sincerely, looking straight ahead.

"Everyone deserves a choice." We walked in silence for a little ways when we saw Edward drive past us.

"Who was the guy at the bar?" she asked.

"Liam. He is my bodyguard," I said as she laughed.

"I pity the poor guy," she laughed out.

"He said I'm going to be a challenge and that I'm feisty," I responded with a laugh. "If you don't want me to watch Seth anymore, I understand."

"Nah, I trust you, B. Then again, I kinda like having a mobster next door; it makes me feel safe," she said as I shook my head at her.

"You're crazy."

"Think about it. He will protect you at all cost, you get to give your kids the world, you have a huge, caring family, and if you ever get in trouble with the law, he would be able to get you off," she said laughing.

"Tori, I feel like I have to look over my shoulder all the time and I don't ever want anything to happen to the kids. Edward could be killed at any moment. Fuck! Any of us could be killed!" I stressed, throwing my hands in the air.

"I think the mob people would rather kill each other than their families," she said.

"True; so I just have to wait to be a widow again," I said as I looked back to the ground.

"Are you more scared about what will happen to you and the kids, or to him?" she asked sincerely.

"Both," I admitted. "I hate him for not giving me a choice. I wouldn't have chosen this life with him if I knew," I told her.

"What are you going to do?"

"Nothing I can do. I'm married to the mob for life. Wanna learn how to shoot a gun with me?" I asked her.

"Hell yes!" she said enthusiastically. "I won't tell anyone. I would have said something about the rumor sooner if I would have known it was true. I'll ask the person who told me, to see if they might know anything else."

"Who is it?"

"I'm not telling you. Your husband would find out and that person would be killed," she said as I swatted her. "I'll see you later," she told me as we walked up to our houses. I hugged her and headed for my home. It felt like deja vu as I walked up to the porch. Edward was sitting there waiting for me, but instead of the worried look he had the first time, he was scowling at me.

"Did you tell her about my family?" Edward asked, very pissed off.

"No. I wouldn't air other people's dirty laundry," I said as I tried to get past him. "I told her no more than Alice told me. I guess she was just smarter than I was," I said as I shrugged.

"Why did she ask about his age?"

"That guy looked like he was forty years old," I said as Edward chuckled. "I'm going to bed."

"Bella," he said as he stood in front of the stairs. "I truly love you. I'm sorry I had to lie, but I'm not sorry for loving you or marrying you," he said as he hugged me tightly to his chest. I wanted to hug him back so badly, but I stopped myself. I didn't know if I could ever get over his lies.

"I'm really tired," I said as he released me.

I walked into the house and headed for my room. I thought for sure Edward would have followed me, but he didn't. Maybe he finally understood the fact that I needed space. Whenever he was around the house, he was up my butt. I washed my face and dressed for bed. As I was turning down the covers, Edward walked in. He took his coat off and I saw his gun. He kinda looked sexy with it, but I never would have told him that. He took it out of his pants and clicked a couple things on it.

"Do I need to sleep with this?" he asked me as I laughed at him.

"No, I think you're safe," I said as he smiled.

"I've missed your laugh." That quickly sobered me up. "I only ask because my mother tried to kill my father when she found out about the Mafia stuff."

"I would never stoop to your level," I said as he locked his gun up. "How do you even get away with dealing with people? I mean, don't you go and threaten them?"

"What are you getting at?" he asked, sounding completely confused.

"Your eyes are unlike anything I have ever seen in my life. If I were to see you, I would never forget your eyes," I said as he smiled.

"I've worn contacts before, but they cloud my vision. I mostly where sunglasses," he said as he finished undressing.

"But if you were killing them, it wouldn't matter right?" I asked as he rolled his eyes at me.

"You know what? I'm trying to be honest with you, and all you are doing is mocking me," he said as he lay down in bed.

"Mocking _you_? I'm the joke in this marriage. I'm sleeping in the same bed as a murderer," I snapped as he grabbed my arms and made me look at him.

"Enough!" he said between clenched teeth. "You need to get over it. There is _nothing_ you can do to change anything. Will you forgive me so we can just move on?"

"I don't think I can. I have kids..."

"And I take very great care of our kids! They are fully protected! No one is going to hurt them or you! They would kill me first," he said, letting go of me.

"Awesome! So now I just have to wait to be a widow again? Do you not understand that I gave you all of the love I had inside of me and all you did was lie? So this is how the rest of my life is going to be spent? Correct me if I'm wrong," I said as I faced him, "but I'm supposed to fake my happiness, constantly watch over my shoulder so I can protect my kids, and worry every time you leave this house, because I don't know if you are going to come back?"

"I don't want you to have to fake your happiness. I want you happy, baby. Talk to Alice, she can explain things better. She and my mother know your side more than I do."

"I don't want to talk to anyone. I don't want to talk to you, but again, I have no choice. Edward, I don't know what you want from me!"

"I want us to be the most in-love couple - like we used to be. I want to kiss you and have you kiss me back. I want to hug you and have you relax, not stiffen up like a pole. I want your eyes to light up when I walk into the room. I want you to smile and laugh. You walk around like you are going to burst into tears at any given second. You don't even smile or anything, anymore. I need my wife back," he said as he touched my cheek. I told myself I wasn't going to cry, but when I saw the tears and sadness in his eyes, I couldn't hold back my own. I hated myself for crying, for being so weak. Edward moved closer to me and I automatically stiffened. I couldn't help it. It scared me to my core to know that he was killing people, or even hurting them.

"Just kiss me, please," he begged as he lowered his lips to mine.

"No," I said as he held me tighter. He pressed his lips to my dead ones. If I allowed myself to show him my love, I would only hurt more in the end. I had to put some distance between us in order to protect myself.

"I hate when you say that word," he said as he kissed my lips more. "Kiss me," he demanded. He kissed me harder, but I was able to keep my lips still. "Goddamnit! KISS me!" he yelled, making me flinch.

"I can't! If I kiss you and you die, it will break me, and I don't wanna be broken," I said as I cried. "If I kiss you, that will mean I forgive you, and I'm not ready do that. If I kiss you, I will want you, and that is not something I want right now. I don't even know if I'll ever want that again," I said through my sniffles. While in the middle of my rant, I was pushing closer to him without realizing it, and he was crying right with me.

"I want you to want me again. Please tell me what I can do to make it better, Bella. I love you so much and I don't want to be without you," he said as he held my face in his hands. I hated that he was getting to me. I hated that his tears were having an effect on me. "I know I did this all wrong, but it is what it is. We have to move on because we are together until one of us leaves this earth," he said, making me sob even harder.

"I don't want this," I said as he hugged me. "I don't want to wait for you to be killed. I don't want to be kidnapped or raped because you pissed off the wrong people. I don't want one of my kids hurt because someone wants to hurt you. I don't want any of this," I cried.

"Baby, none of that is going to happen. One thing that all Mafias have in common is that we protect our families with everything we are. No one goes after family members. We would all rather kill the person we're after, anyway," he said wiping my tears. "You are safe, I promise."

"I don't think I can mentally handle all this," I said as I calmed down slightly. "I'm going to Forks in the morning. I'm going to spend time with my family..."

"Bella, don't do this..." he said with a broken sob.

"I won't tell anyone anything..."

"I can't let you go. I will have to get you and bring you back. Do you just want to keep finding reasons to hate me?" he asked, starting to get angry.

"Just shut up! Let me fucking talk!" I said as I glared at him. "What I was trying to say is that I just need a little distance! I will be back sometime Sunday. If you show up, blow up my phone, or bug me in any way, I may be too tried to drive back. You can't do a lot, but you can at least let me have a day," I said as he stared at me. I wasn't even sure he was listening.

"You will come back?" he asked quietly.

"I have no choice," I said with no emotion.

"If you don't come back, I'll come and get you," he said in a serious tone.

"I know."

"Kiss me," he said as I looked down. "One kiss…please?"

I wanted to say no so badly, but I knew he was hurting, too. He was giving me my day, so I gave him his kiss. His whole body relaxed into me. He needed reassurance just as much as I did.

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><p>Let me know your thoughts! I love your reviews! Thanks to my girls for all my help I love you all!<p> 


	14. Chapter 14

EPOV

"Hey, honey. Where's the family?" my mother asked.

"Forks," I replied as she gasped.

"She just went to pick up the kids," I said as I shook my head at her. "And before you ask, she didn't want me to go with her. She said she needed time to think."

"Well, that is understandable. She'll come around; we all did," she said as Rose listened to our conversation.

"Don't count on that one. I'm still not over it," Rose said as I glared at her.

"If Bella ends up like her," I said, pointing to Rose, "I will get a divorce."

"Haha! Don't tell Bella that, or she and I may just become best friends!" Rose said, clapping her hands together. Rose was a fucking liar. She loved being part of our family…well, the money part anyway. I knew I just needed to ignore her, but part of me thought my sweet wife would end up a bitch like Rose. I headed to the office where I knew the men would be.

"Do we need to send out a search party?" Emmett asked as I sat down.

"No, she just went to get the kids," I said as my father handed me some strong brandy.

"Who do you have on her?" my dad asked.

"Liam. She has just been such a bitch!" I said as I rubbed my hand down my face.

"She threaten to kill you yet?" Jasper asked with a laugh.

"Ha, she said she wouldn't stoop to my level." Yeah, that made everyone laugh.

"She knows how to fight dirty with words," Jasper said as Emmett laughed harder.

"It's not funny man! The kids know something is going on. Mikey is scared of me even though he says he's not. Jake watches me like I'm going to do a trick, and I'm waiting for Ra to ask, 'Daddy, do you kill people?' So yeah, it's not funny," I said before downing my drink.

"What does Mikey know?" my dad asked as I glared at Jasper.

"Cash told him his dad carries a gun in his pants, and Royce said he saw his daddy come home with blood all over his shirt, and that he saw his mommy burn it," I said as the laughing stopped. "Not so funny now, is it?"

"Those kids know too much. You both need to be more careful," my dad said as he rubbed his forehead. "How about this… we take all the boys to get haircuts or something, and then we will go out to lunch and talk to them. We'll come up with something so they aren't going to school saying shit," he said. Now I just had to convince Bella to let me take the boys.

"This sucks," Emmett said. He couldn't have said it any better. "Has Liam called at all?"

"Yeah, he called when she got there, but he hasn't called to tell me that she's left yet. I know she is just trying to piss me off. I swear to God I just want to shake the shit out of her sometimes!"

"Do it," Emmett said as I stared at him. "I had to do it with Rose in the beginning. Not only does it scare the shit out of them, it got Rose to realize I wasn't fucking around," he said as I still stared. I couldn't do that to Bella.

I looked at my phone and saw a text from Bella saying she was home. I was confused because Liam never called me. Then again, I never ordered him too. I told her to come over for dinner and she told me no. I HATED when she told me no.

"Fucking bitch," I said as I stood abruptly.

"What?" Jasper asked.

"Bella is home, but she refused to come over," I said as I gripped my phone.

"She needs to know this behavior is not acceptable. I want your entire family here next Sunday, or she is going to deal with me. I've had enough and you need to tell her to get the fuck over it! I want to know about the adoption as well, so I can have to papers drawn up," he said as he walked out of the office with the door slamming behind him.

"Should I tell him that she won't let me adopt the kids?" I said as Emmett and Jasper both shook their heads no. My life was so fucked up.

BPOV

I hated long drives in the car, but it was something I really needed. I kept the radio down low and thought about everything in my life. My kids were so happy and they loved Edward. Jake was doing so much better in school, and I think that had a lot to do with Edward. When he was home, he would help Jake, and Jake always understood things the way Edward would explain them. My husband was a great guy and a great father. Why did he have to be a mobster? He was my perfect match, but now everything's fucked up. I know he wanted everything to go back to normal, but I just couldn't bring myself to allow that. I was pretty sure I would get over the mob stuff before I got over the lies. I hated lying. I punish my kids for it, so why not make him suffer for a while? Part of me wanted to ask Alice about everything that was going on, but at the same time, I didn't want to talk to her.

Now that I knew Liam was my new butt tag, he didn't hide himself as much. He followed me all the way to Forks, and I watched him make a call as we drove into town. The kids were so hyper when I arrived. I knew it was going to be a long trip home. I was tired and I just wanted to get home, so I didn't stay long. Rachel was sad that Edward wasn't with us, and started to cry. I told her he was busy, and she ended up mad at him instead. It was childish of me, but I liked that she was mad.

The kids all passed out before we were even out of Forks. At least I knew they had a good weekend. I was happy that Edward gave me the space that I wanted. He never texted or called me once, but I was sure Liam kept in contact with him. I could deal with Liam, though. He kept to himself and never bothered me. I texted Edward and told him that we were home. He responded by telling me to come to his parents for dinner. I knew telling him no would piss him off, but I did it anyway. Instead, I stopped by a burger joint and got each of the kids a kid's meal for dinner. I wasn't in the mood to hang out with my mob family tonight. The thought alone made my stomach churn. I heard Edward peel into the driveway and slam his door. I knew it was going to be an interesting night. The kids were watching TV when he walked in, and I was picking up the dinner mess.

"What the fuck, Bella?" he ask harshly, but quietly.

"What?" I asked in a snotty tone.

"You hurt my mother's feelings by not showing up today," he said as I shrugged. "You need to start thinking about my family, too."

"Your family is full of lairs. I don't owe them anything."

"Enough! Get the fuck over it! You are not using this against me or my family any longer! When I tell you to be somewhere, you are there," he demanded as I bit my tongue. I wanted to scream at him so badly, but the kids were awake and I knew better.

"I hate you," I said, looking directly into his eyes.

"Well, I love you," he said as he walked out of the kitchen. I finished quickly because I didn't like him being alone with the kids for too long. I don't know what I was afraid of, but it still made me nervous.

"That sounds fun!" Jake said. "Mikey, you wanna go?"

"Go where?" I asked as I sat down.

"Edward is taking us out on Saturday," Jake said as my heart sank. I noticed that Rachel was sitting by herself, looking like she was going to cry.

"What's wrong, Rach?" I asked as her tears split over. She walked to me and I held her in my lap. "Sshh, it's okay, baby."

"Daddy doesn't love me," she cried as Edward's face paled. I glared at him and he moved closer to us.

"Why do you think that?" I asked as I rubbed her back.

"He didn't come and get me today, and now he is just taking the boys. He's too busy for me," she said as my words came back to haunt me. I hated myself for what I had to say next.

"Edward loves you. He's not too busy for you, sweetie. He didn't come today because I didn't want him to," I said as her cries quieted.

"But I can't go on Saturday," she said as she looked at me.

"What's going on Saturday?" I asked.

"The fathers are just taking the boys out for some bonding time," Edward said.

"And I can't go," Rachel said as she cried harder. "I wish I was a boy so I could see my daddy."

"Rach, baby, you don't have to be a boy to spend time with me," Edward said as he rubbed his back.

"You're mean. I hate you," Rachel said.

"We do not say hate!" I scolded her. "You say sorry right now." Even if I hated Edward, I didn't want my baby saying she hated him. She didn't know such an emotion. Plus, I didn't really hate him either, but that was beside the point.

"You say it!" Rachel said defensively.

"When have you ever heard me say I hated someone?"

"In the kitchen. I went to see daddy, but he sounded mean and you said 'I hate you,'" she said as my face paled.

"I've heard you say it, too," Jake said and Mikey agreed.

"When an adult says they hate something, it can mean a lot of things. Kids don't hate anything, because they don't know everything. Mommy is mad at me right now. That is why she said such mean words, but everything will be okay," Edward said as I stared at him. He handled that better than I could have. I gave him a small smile and he nodded at me.

"I'm sorry," Rachel said. "I'm mad at you."

"I'm sorry you're mad at me. I will try to make time for just you," Edward said, ruining the entire moment. "What?" he asked me, having no clue as to why I was mad. Sometimes he was just plain stupid.

"Go get ready for bed," I told the kids.

"I don't want to go on Saturday, but thanks for asking," Mikey said.

"Why not buddy?" Edward asked. All Mikey did was shrug.

"You don't have to anything you don't want to," I said as Mikey nodded. He left the living room and I slouched back into the couch. Edward let out a sigh and placed his hand on my upper thigh.

"I need him to go Saturday," Edward said as he squeezed my leg.

"I'm not making him if he doesn't want to," I said, pushing his hand away.

"Why are you mad now? Am I ever going to do anything right?" he asked as he turned his body toward me.

"You did do something right, and then you fucked it up," I whispered harshly.

"What did I do wrong?"

"You told Rachel that you would try to spend time with her."

"So?"

"You said try. She doesn't know try. All she heard was that you would spend some alone time with her," I said.

"Shit," he said with a sigh. "I'm sorry, baby. I'm trying so hard," he said as he pulled me to him. "Baby, I'm so tired of fighting. Can we please stop?"

"I don't know if I can get past this," I said as I gave up. There was nothing left for me to do.

"I know I lied, but I love you so much, and I just want things better," he said as he kissed right below my ear. "Please, babe?"

"I have to tuck the kids in," I said as I stood up. Edward quickly grabbed my hips and looked up at me.

"Don't ever doubt my love for you or the kids," he said as I walked away. I couldn't deal with him right now. I was letting him get to me, but I still wanted to be mad.

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><p>You guys are all split, some like that Bella is being a hard ass, and some just want her to get over it. Well, it is going to be a little bit of both from here on out. I thought I had this story all typed out, but I have a couple more ideas to play around with so you may get one or two more chapters!<p>

Thanks for all the reviews I love them all! And a huge thank you goes out to my girls! They have all become very close friends and I'm so happy that they have become a part of my life!


	15. Chapter 15

EPOV

The look on Bella's face as I left the house with the boys truly hurt me. She gave them hugs and kisses, and acted like she was never going to see them again. I gave her a hug and kiss, even though she still refused to touch me back, and told her that everything would be fine. I had to talk Mikey into going, but he finally gave in. I needed to find out what was going on in his head. I hated that Bella thought so badly of me. She was only okay with the idea of me taking the boys because they were so excited to go. We were meeting Emmett, Jasper, and my dad at the sports bar. I had my manager set up the back room for us. We thought that would be a little more cool than taking them to get haircuts. We were having a 'boys only' day, and my kids were very excited about that.

My dad sat back and watched me with my boys. I could feel his eyes on me. I knew he wanted to push the issue of the adoption, but I think he wanted to just see me with the boys. I knew he wanted the papers signed like yesterday, but I just didn't want to push Bella. She hated me enough as it was. I knew it was going to be a fight to convince her to let me adopt the kids, but I needed a boy to carry on my name. I had no clue how to even bring up the subject with her.

"Edward, can I have a root beer?" Jake asked.

"Sure, you both can have whatever you want," I said, making both my boys smile at me.

"Boys?" Carlisle asked, getting Mikey and Jake's attention. "Why don't you call Edward, 'Dad'?"

"He's not my dad," Mikey said with a shoulder shrug.

"I do sometimes. It's a little weird to say, though," Jake told him.

"Mikey, do you like having a dad around?" Carlisle asked. All Mikey did was shrug. I knew I needed to talk to him on my own.

"Mikey, I wanna show you something. Jake, stay here with Uncle Em, okay?" I said as Jake agreed. Mikey looked scared, so I took his hand and we headed to my office.

"What's this?" Mikey asked.

"This is my office. This is where I work," I said as he smiled.

"I wanna work in a place with a lot of TVs," he said, making me chuckle.

"You know I love you, Jake, and Rach, right?" I asked. All he did was nod his head.

"My dad died," he said finally.

"I know, but that doesn't mean I can't be your dad, too," I said as his eyes filled with tears.

"I get scared at night and I want my mom, but I'm too scared to come and get her. Would you be mad if I came into your room?" he asked as I stared at him.

"No. You have no reason at all to be afraid of me. If you're mad at me: tell me. If there is something you want to know: ask. In my eyes, you are my son. I want to know what you think," I said as we sat next to each other.

"Will I hurt your feelings if I don't call you Dad?" he asked without looking at me.

"No, not at all. See, this is the kind of thing I'm talking about. I need to know how you are feeling," I said to him.

"I was scared you would be mad. I just remember my dad. Rach didn't know him, so I get it, and Jake just always does what I do," he said with a shrug.

"Okay, so it's okay if Jake and Rach call me Dad?"

"Yeah, maybe one day I will, too, but not right now," he said, scrunching his face up. The kid was pretty cute.

"Okay, so from now on, you have to tell me if something is wrong," I said as he smiled at me.

"Deal! And I can ask you anything?"

"Yes."

"Why does mommy hate you?"

"I lied," I said as his eyes grew big.

"Mommy hates lairs. Did she put soap in your mouth?"

"No," I said with a laugh.

"Did you write her a note saying you're sorry?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"That's a really good idea," I said as his smile reached his eyes. "Thank you."

"Anytime. I know my mom, and she doesn't hate you. I heard her tell Mema that she loved you way too much," he said as I smiled.

"I know she does."

"Can I get a burger?" he asked suddenly. I guess our little talk was over.

We headed back down to the table and ordered food. Jake was getting along really well with Royce, and as long as I kept Cash away from him, everything was great. The boys chatted about school, and I loved listening to them. Emmett and I talked about taking the girls to Build-A-Bear Workshop. I was very happy he had some kind of idea as to what to do with a little girl, because I was clueless.

"When your dads were your age, I had the same talk with them that we are going to have with you," my father said as the boys all looked to them.

"I didn't do it, Grandpa," Cash said as we all laughed.

"Sorry, but you did do it kid," Jasper said.

"Our family is different than others. We don't talk about our lives with anyone who is not family. You four are each other's best friends. You don't need any other friends when you have a family like ours," my father said as Mikey huffed.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"That's not fair. Seth is my best friend, Edward," Mikey said with pleading eyes.

"Seth is okay. Plus, his mom may marry my cousin, so he might be your family one day," I said as Mikey smiled. James was hot for Tori, and she really didn't stand a chance against him. He would wait and then strike; she wouldn't even see it coming.

"Like I was saying…Kids from school don't come over to your houses and you won't go to theirs. I know this is all hard to understand, but I'm sure your dad's will answer any questions you have later. Another thing you have to remember is that you can never tell anyone but family about things you see or hear," Carlisle said as the boys looked at each other.

"Cash is not my best friend," Jake said as he glared at Cash.

"Shut up, Jake! I don't like you either," Cash said as he stuck his tongue out at Jake.

"Boys, that's enough! You _will_ learn to like each other," Jasper said. "Kiddo, why do you think I carry a gun?"

"'Cause you do," Cash said as he lifted Jasper coat. "See... Hey! Where'd it go?"

"Told you, you were lying," Mikey said with an eye roll.

"I'm not lying. I've seen all you with guns," Cash said. "Uncle Emmett even kissed his before."

"How do you know?" Emmett asked.

"'Cause," Cash said as he grew quiet.

"Cash Cullen! What did you do?" Jasper asked.

"We were playing hide and seek, and I was hiding in Grandpa's office. I was scared, so I waited for you all to leave," he said as his eyes filled with tears.

"Don't ever do that again," my dad said as Cash nodded his head. "This is one of the things that you can only talk to each other about, and never at school."

"Well, if Cash wasn't lying, then why did Emmett have blood on his shirt?" Mikey asked as Royce looked at the table.

"I was hurt. Rose doesn't like to do laundry, so she burned it," Emmett said as if it wasn't a big deal.

"Mom hates to do anything in the house," Royce said, making Emmett laugh.

"As long as you all understand that you never talk about the family at school, I think we are good for now. Do you all understand?" my dad asked as the boys nodded their heads.

After all the talk was over, the boys had a great time. My dad talked a little more about them calling me Dad, and by the end of the afternoon, Jake was starting to. He said it once in a while before, but now I thought the word 'dad' might actually stick. Before we left, my dad said he would see us the next day. I knew I had to tell Bella about Sunday dinner. That was a fight waiting to happen, but it was one I knew I was going to win.

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><p>BPOV<p>

I was so nervous about letting the boys go with Edward, but he didn't give me a choice. I knew he was trying to ease their minds about the things they were told, but I was still nervous. Rachel and I hung out at home and had a mani/pedi party. She loved it, and I ended up using almost every color I had on her little fingers and toes. We watched _The Little Mermaid_ because that was our favorite movie. I loved having one-on-one time with my little girl. Rachel and I were coloring when I heard the car pull into to the driveway. I was very pleased that it sounded like a reasonable speed, too. The boys came running into the house, both talking at the same time. They were telling me about what a great time they had. I smiled widely at their excitement.

"When I get bigger, I'm going to work there," Mikey said as his eyes grew wide. "I'm going to put an X-Box at every TV."

"That wouldn't be fair to the girls," I said with a laugh.

"Why?"

"Because boys and girls go there on dates, and if there is an X-Box there, the boys won't talk to the girls," I said as I heard Edward chuckle behind me.

"So? At least they get to eat," Mikey said as he took off for his room. I was pretty sure that was the hardest I had laughed in a while.

"I'm sorry. He got that line from Emmett," Edward said as he stood awkwardly next to me.

"That's just too funny and I should have known," I laughed as Edward placed his hand on my back. "Rachel, come show Edward your toes."

"I'm a rainbow!" Rachel said as she ran into the room. She shoved her fingers into Edward's face and said 'see'. He had to pull her hand back a bit to be able to look. "And I painted Mommy's toes!"

"Well, let me see, Mommy," Edward said as I rolled my eyes at him. "Ra, you and Mommy have the same toes, and they are just the prettiest toes ever," Edward said as Rachel hugged him. There was a knock at the door, so I left Rach and Edward alone to enjoy their moment. I knew she missed him. I opened the door to see Seth standing on the other side.

"Hey buddy, what's up?" I asked as Seth smiled.

"Can Mikey come over to play and have pizza with me?" he asked with a smile. I went and got Mikey, but he seemed kind of standoffish. He asked me where Edward was. I found that completely odd. Being the nosy, interfering mother I was, I followed right behind Mikey.

"Edward, is it okay if I go over and hangout with Seth?" Mikey asked as my mouth dropped.

"Mikey, I already said it was okay," I said as Mikey smiled at me and then turned back to Edward.

"Sure…no sleepover, though. I want you back in this house by seven," Edward said. Mikey gave me a quick hug and then ran for the door.

"What was that about?" I asked as Edward looked at me for a minute and then went back to watching whatever was on TV.

"Ra, I want you to pick up your mess in here. I'm going to go talk to Mommy," he said, kissing her on the head.

"Okay, Daddy," she said with a big smile. Edward headed for our bedroom and I quickly followed.

"What the fuck?" I asked once we had the door closed.

"Bella, I just explained to the boys that they shouldn't have friends outside the family," he said as my eyes grew.

"You told my kids they can't have any friends?"

"They can have friends, just not outside the family."

"You…you are such an asshole! Why would you tell them that?" I asked. I really didn't know what to say.

"They are part of my family, Bella. They don't get any special privileges just because they weren't born into the family," he said as I glared at him.

"My kids are not part of your family bullshit," I said through clenched teeth.

"_Our_ kids are. They are _Cullens_. If they want, they can join the family business when they are of age. Your kids are my kids, too," he said, getting in my face. "And just because I am your favorite person, I'm going to tell you something that is going push you over the edge," he said as I glared more. "We are going to Sunday dinner tomorrow."

Motherfucker!

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><p>Thanks for all the reviews. Thanks to my girls for all their help. There won't be an update for 2 to 3 weeks. RL is crashing down on me pretty hard and I need to take a break. Sorry but this is what I need. I will be back so there is no worry that I am walking away forever yet. you can follow me on facebook, there is a link on my profile.<p> 


	16. Chapter 16

BPOV

"I am _not_ going there," I said, shaking my head.

"You and _our_ kids are going. I'm not fighting with you. _We_ are going," he said. I wanted to scream.

"I'm not eating and being all friendly with a bunch of fucking liars and murderers! I don't want _my_ kids around that!" I said, raising my voice.

"What part of 'we are not fighting about this' didn't you understand?" he asked as I threw my hands in the air. "When you are involved with the mob, everyone is a lair, so get used to it! A day will come when you will lie so a woman marries one of our own. Get the fuck over it!" he yelled as my mouth dropped.

"I wouldn't help any of you."

"We'll see," he said with a shrug. He walked to the door, and called Rachel and Jake to our room. They came running as if he had candy or something. "You guys wanna go to my parents' house tomorrow?"

"YES!" they both yelled at the same time.

"Okay, that was all I needed. Go keep being good," he said as they ran off. "Are you going to tell them they aren't allowed to go?" he asked as he raised an eye brow at me.

"Have I told you today how much I hate you?" I asked as I walked out of our room.

"I love you, more," he yelled after me. I was pretty sure I was never going to be able to love him again… Ever.

The rest of the night was spent away from each other. If I was in the room, he wasn't. I didn't care if he was mad at me. I didn't want my children around his family. I didn't want myself around his family. He was doing some pretty good drugs if he thought I was going to act like everything was okay and paste a smile on my face.

We went to bed together that night, and he tried to get laid. I hated that he could arouse my body. I didn't want to feel attracted to him. Part of me wanted to fuck the shit out of him so I could get some of my aggression out, but I didn't want to give him anything he wanted. If I didn't get what I wanted, then he got nothing from me. The morning was like the prior night. We really didn't talk unless we had to. We were both pissed at each other, and there was no need to add any more stress to our lives.

The kids didn't know any better when it came to bad situations. I knew I was being selfish by not wanting my kids around the people they thought of as family. I just wished they weren't so excited about going to the Cullen's house. Rachel was very talkative, asking random questions. She asked Mikey if he put underwear on before we left the house. She asked Edward if he liked Dora. She asked Jake why he liked to have stinky breath. She was a little instigator. I was in my own little world, just staring out the window. Edward really hadn't said too much to me, but I didn't care.

"Mommy, do you love Daddy?" Rachel asked me, throwing me off guard.

"Why would you ask me that, baby?"

"Because you haven't talked to him in days," she said, dragging out the word 'days'.

"Yeah Rach, I love him," I said as she smiled brightly. Edward took that as his queue to touch me. I simply readjusted in my seat, and his hand slipped off my leg. He just shook his head at me. Like I said, I didn't care anymore.

When we pulled into their driveway, my stomach dropped. Their house was the last place I wanted to be. The kids jumped out of the car and ran to the house. Edward was all smiles as he took my hand. I tried to pull away, but he wasn't having that. He gripped my hand tighter and told me to knock it off. I hated acting like we were the perfect family. When we walked into the house, I saw Esme hugging the kids. I heard her tell them that she made cupcakes. I smiled at the kid's excitement. They ran off to the playroom as Esme made her way to me.

"I'm so glad you are here," she said, trying to hug me. I backed away, but said hello. I didn't want to be buddy-buddy with any of them, and I didn't know why none of them seemed to understand that.

"It's good to see you," Edward said, giving her a one armed hug. "I'm going to talk to Bella for a minute," he said as Esme walked away. "Please, Bella?"

"No. I don't even want to be here. Don't tell me I have to be friendly," I said looking up to him.

"Baby, I'm sorry I made you do this..."

"I don't want to hear it."

"Fine. Just…play nice," he said as he walked away from me.

I wasn't in the mood to be buddy-buddy with the women, so I went in and played with the kids. I saw Emma and Rachel coloring, so I went over and joined them. Emma called me Aunt Bella, and it was a little weird, but she was just a child so I would never tell her any different. I even colored her a picture and signed it Aunt Bella. I did score some points with the boys when I helped them get through a tough spot on their video game. I had fun with all of the kids, and if I was made to come back, I would do the same. After an hour of playing with them, Edward came running into the room. He looked so worried that I thought something was wrong.

"Are you okay?" I asked as I stood up.

"Um…yeah. Dinner's done," he said as the kids all ran out of the room. "I thought you left."

"You have the keys," I said as I sat on the couch. "Go on and eat, I'm not hungry."

"Baby, please? Just come eat and then we will leave. I thought you were playing all this up. I don't want you to be uncomfortable," he said, rubbing my thighs as he crouched down in front of me.

"Promise?" I asked.

"I promise. You don't have to come back until you are ready," he said as I gave him a tight lipped smile.

"What if I'm never ready?" I asked.

"You'll get there. I know you will feel better if you would at least talk to Alice," he said, kissing my lips even though I didn't kiss him back. "I miss your kisses."

"I miss…never mind. Let's go eat," I said as I stood up. Edward hugged me tight and kissed the top of my head. I knew he loved me, and I did love him, but it was just too hard to show.

"Oh, sorry. I thought everyone was eating. I just wanted to make sure the kids shut everything off," Carlisle said as Edward let go of me. "After dinner, I need to talk to the two of you. I have something for you," he said with a smile. I had no clue what he had for us. It must have been something good by the smile on his face.

We headed to the dining room, and I could hear voices and laughter along the way, but as soon as I walked in, everyone stopped talking. I looked up at Edward, and he was glaring at his family. He rubbed my back as he pulled out my chair. There was minimal conversation, and I even talked to Edward about the food so it wasn't so quiet. I think he was just happy I was acting civil. Time was ticking so slowly and I just wanted to go home. Once dinner was done, I told the kids to behave, and as soon as Edward and I were done talking with Carlisle we were going home. The office was very manly. There was a family photo of Carlisle, Esme, Edward, and Alice. Edward looked to be a teenager, but he really didn't look too much different than he did today. There were two couches and a few leather chairs in the room. I wondered if that was where they did all their plotting.

"Thanks for taking the time to meet with me," Carlisle said as he fiddled with papers. "These are for you to look over and see if you agree to the terms," he said, handing me legal papers. I kind of sat on the edge of my seat. Was Edward giving me a divorce?

"Don't get too excited. They're not divorce papers," Edward said.

"A girl can hope," I said, rolling my eyes at him. My heart felt sad. "So, what are these?"

"Read it," Carlisle said as I looked quickly over the papers. The more I read, the more my blood pressure went up.

"Really?" I asked as I looked at Edward.

"Bella, they..." Edward started to say.

"I don't give a FUCK about what you have to say! I will NOT sign these," I said, throwing the papers at Edward. "I already said no, and that answer will not change," I said as tears filled my eyes.

"Bella, you need to rethink your answer," Carlisle said.

"Or what? You'll kill me?" I asked as they both laughed.

"We have a way of getting what we want," Carlisle said to me.

"You won't get this," I said as my tears fell freely.

"We will talk about this more later after the kids go to bed," Edward said, standing up with the papers in his hand. "I think we are going to go."

"That's fine. You two have a lot to talk about," Carlisle said.

"There is nothing to talk about! You are NOT ADOPTING MY KIDS!" I yelled. Edward grabbed my arm and pushed me out of the room.

"I'll get the kids. They don't need to see you like this. Go to the car," he said as I tried to control my crying.

"Please don't do this," I said as I sniffled.

"Go to the car," he said, dismissing me. With nothing left to do, I headed out of the house.

Alice tried to talk to me, but I just kept on walking. I couldn't believe Edward was doing this to me. He knew I never wanted him to adopt the kids. My kids were Mike's, not his. I felt like my heart was being ripped out of my chest. I took several deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. I was still crying when I saw the kids head for our car, so I closed my eyes and acted like I was sleeping. Edward was right: I didn't want my kids to see me so upset. By the time we were home, I was done crying. I was able to do what needed to be done and put the kids to bed. I had no clue where Edward was, but I was hoping he had left. I was once again exhausted from my emotions and ready for bed. I walked into the bedroom to find Edward sitting on our bed reading the adoption papers.

"If you don't get rid of those, I will rip them the fuck up," I said as he folded them and put them in the night stand drawer.

"Bella, I didn't know he had them drawn up," he said as I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever, Edward. I don't believe a thing that comes out of your mouth. You had to have had knowledge of this at least," I said as I dressed for bed.

"He had been pushing me to talk to you, but I knew you would say no. Carlisle isn't just my father, Bella, he is my boss. I have to do as I'm told. Baby, we don't have to change their names, just hyphenate them."

"Are you fucking deaf? I said no and my answer is not going to change. Mike is their father. You are their step-father. They will not be Cullens," I said as my anger grew.

"I need at least one of the boys to have my name..."

"NO! I will not say it again. Go get some bitch knocked up so you can have a namesake. Leave my boys alone," I said as I started shaking. I think I was more upset over the adoption than I was the whole mob thing.

"Then let's have a baby," he said as I stopped on my tracks.

"Are you fucking serious?"

"As a heart attack."

"You need a boy that fucking bad?"

"It's gotta happen one way or the other," he said as I shook my head at him.

"Well, you better start looking for some broad to give you a kid, because I'm sure as hell not going to. Nor are you claiming my kids," I said as I stared into his eyes. "They are Mike's kids, not yours. I promised Mike that I would never change their names, and that is a promise I intend to keep. Why don't you get that?" I asked.

"Jake and Rachel don't even remember him. To them, I _am_ their father," he said as I saw red.

"You never want me to love you ever again, do you? You are crossing a line here that you shouldn't. My kids are Mike's kids. They are, and will always be, Newtons. My kids are not yours. Do I make myself clear?" I asked as he gave me the death glare.

"This is going to happen whether you like it or not. Either I adopt the kids, or we have a child."

"I hate you," I said as I walked out of the bedroom. I couldn't be anywhere near him.

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><p>So there you have it. Did Bella do a good enough job putting Edward in his place?<p>

I have had a great much needed break and I'm back and ready to go! Thanks to my girls for all their help and support!

If you would like to join my jess2002 fan fic group on fb there is a link on my profile. All my fb girls got a preview of a new daddy story to come, so come join our fun!

I haven't giving you all some story recs in a while so if you would like to check out a story check out weekittyandtat's new story! It is doing great and I'm loving the story!


	17. Chapter 17

Hey everyone! This chapter I think needs a tissue warning! I know it made me cry while writing it. Thanks to my lovely ladies for all their hard work! Keep the reviews coming! Still everyone is split on how you feel about Bella and it fascinates me.

I own nothing but the plot!

!Get the tissues ready!

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><p>As the weeks went on, Edward and I drifted further apart. I had nothing to say to him, and every time he would say something to me, it was about the adoption. Every time I saw him, my skin would crawl. I had no love for him at all anymore. If he would drop the adoption issue, I would act like the wife he wanted, but until that happened, I would just pretend like he didn't exist.<p>

One Friday, I was off for some reason. I was clumsy, I couldn't talk right, I was on edge, and I felt like I was going to cry all day. I had no clue what my problem was. Still, I cleaned the house and went through the kid's bedrooms to see if they had taken any kitchen utensils in there. Rachel was the biggest culprit for doing that. Sure enough, she had two rubber scrappers and a wire whisk; she must have been baking. I didn't find anything in Mikey's room, but I did find a fly swatter in Jake's. When I hung the fly swatter back up in the kitchen, I looked at the calendar and my eyes filled with tears immediately. How could I have forgotten such an important day?

I quickly got Rachel ready to leave, and threw a box of fruit snacks and some bottles of water into my bag. I tried to calm myself down as I drove to the school to sign the boys out. I needed to get to Forks as soon as possible. The boys were excited to get signed out early. Once I filled the car with gas, I headed down the highway. All that was on my mind was getting to Forks. I felt like my car wasn't moving fast enough. It was going to be the longest drive of my life.

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><p>Liam's POV<p>

I watched Bella frantically leave the house. I had no clue as to where she was going, and was even more confused when she signed the boys out of school early. At first I thought she was running, but she had nothing but her purse with her. I kept my distance so I wouldn't be noticed, but followed as closely as I could. Once I knew where she was going, I called Mr. Cullen.

"What's wrong?" Mr. Cullen asked quickly.

"Mrs. Cullen has signed the boys out of school and she is headed to Forks. She didn't have any bags with her, and she looked spooked when she left the house," I told him as I heard him groan. "I don't think she is running, sir."

"What else can she be doing?" he snapped at me. "I can't even leave right now!" he yelled.

"I will stay on her and I will let you know what she does."

"You bet your fucking ass you will. I want a text with every move she makes," Mr. Cullen said as he hung up on me.

I drove for hours. Bella was going quite fast and I didn't understand why. We ended up making it to Forks in just over three hours. I watched as she jumped out of the car and rushed the kids into her parent's house. It started to pour as soon as the kids were in the house. I turned on the windshield wipers so I could watch the door. When I saw Renee walk out on to the porch, she was trying to calm Bella down. I had never seen Mrs. Cullen so upset. It was a little heartbreaking.

_She just dropped the kids off at her parent__s'__ a__nd she is crying over something._ I hit send and sent the text.

_Why is she upset?_ I rolled my eyes. How was I supposed to know?

_I don't know__,__ sir. She is leaving her parents__'__ house__, now_.

_I'm a half hour away__…__keep me posted._ I sent back a quick reply and followed Bella once more. She didn't go very far. She pulled over on the side of the road, got out of the car, and went to her trunk. She looked around and then slammed the trunk shut. She put her face in her hands and I saw her shoulders moving up and down as she stood in the rain, almost as if she was sobbing. She pushed her hair out of her face and then stared off to the left. When I followed her line of sight, I saw that she was staring at a cemetery.

_She's at the cemetery on Mark __S__treet._

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><p>BPOV<p>

Of all the days to not have my umbrella, the rainiest day is when I would need it. I felt like the worst person in the entire world. How could I have forgotten the anniversary of Mike's death? He had been gone for four years, now, and I needed him more than ever. There was no way I could even talk to him, though. He would have told me how to stand up to Edward. Hell, he probably would have called me every name in the book for the choices I had made, but he would have still told me what I needed to do.

As I walked up to his headstone, I saw that there were already roses lying in front of his stone. It was nice to know someone else came to see him. I stood for a long time and just stared at his name. He was taken way too young, and it wasn't fair. I would always talk to him as if he was right in front of me, but this time, I couldn't think of what to say. I knew I couldn't leave without saying anything, though.

"Hey," I said as I cleared my throat. "I'm so, so, so, sorry," I said as a sob ripped through me. I cried so hard that my chest hurt. I couldn't stand anymore, and I was soaked to the bone as it was, so I sat on the edge of the headstone and laid my head against the hard rock. I closed my eyes and let the rain hit me in the face. After a few minutes, I felt better, and knew that was a sign that Mike was with me.

"I fucked up and there's no fixing it," I told him.

"Mrs. Cullen?" I heard. I picked up my head to see Liam approaching with an umbrella. "Here, take this," he said as he held it over my head.

"Mike, this is Liam. He's my bodyguard. Liam, this is my late husband, Mike," I said as I looked up at him. "He's been gone four years today and I forgot."

"I'm sorry for your loss, Bella," he said as I nodded at him. I watched him as he walked away, before I laid my head back against the stone. I stayed quiet for a long while, and just listened to the rain hit the plastic of the umbrella.

"He wants to change our kids' last name. He wants to be their father. Mike, I hate him for that. I give you my word that it isn't going to happen. They are _your_ kids and, no one will ever claim them as their own. I love you, Mike. I love you so much it hurts, but I love Edward, too. I hate that I love him so much. I could lose him and I don't know what would happen to me if that were to happen. I can't imagine how Mikey would deal with such a thing. I promise you that Edward is so good with the kids, and he loves them to death. I can't do this anymore, Mike. I can't keep fighting with him, and I can't stay mad anymore, but I'm too scared to let go," I said as I took a big breath.

"I wish I knew why Edward was brought into my life. I wish I knew that he was going to be around long enough to see the kids graduate high school and get married. Since you can't be there, I would love for Edward to take your place, but what if he dies? I know I'm talking in circles, but I'm just so confused right now. Anyway, like I said before, your kids are your kids, and I will never let them forget you," I said as I heard a throat clear. I looked up and saw Edward standing there with his own umbrella.

"I didn't know," he said.

"I forgot," I said with a shrug.

"Come here," he said as he pulled on my hand. He brought me into his chest and hugged me tightly with one arm. I took a deep breath and started to cry even harder. Edward rocked me back and forth, and tried to comfort me as best he could. I was pretty inconsolable, though.

"Edward, I can't do the adoption," I said as I sobbed into his shoulder.

"I know," he said, making me look up at him. "We don't have to do it. I'll rip up the papers as soon as we get home." Two things happened at that moment: the rain stopped, and the sun came out.

"You swear it?"

"I swear, but we have to try to have a baby of our own," he said as he wiped some of my tears away. I didn't say anything. All I did was lay my head back on his chest. I didn't know if I wanted to have another child, but I knew I didn't want to take Mike's name away from the kids I already had.

"Can I stay a little while longer?" I asked, not knowing why.

"As long as you need. I'd like to stay with you, if that's okay," he said as I nodded.

"Mike, this is Edward. Edward, this is Mike," I said as I looked up. "I think everything is going to be okay."

"I think so, too, baby."

"But that doesn't mean we go back to what we were," I said as he rubbed my back. "It will take me a while to get over everything."

"Take as long as you need."

"You mean it?"

"Yes. I love you, Bella," he said. I still couldn't bring myself to say it back to him, though. We stood there quietly for a little while longer before I was ready to leave. When we arrived at my parents' and walked through the door, I heard Mike's laugh.

"Are you okay?" Edward asked as I stiffened.

"Did you hear that laugh?"

"Yeah..."

"That's Mike's laugh," I said as my eyes grew bigger. Then I heard my laugh and I allowed myself to breathe. I walked into the living room to hear 'happy birthday' being sung. My parents were playing Mikey's first birthday video. I stood frozen with a lump in my throat as I watched Mike help our son blow out the one candle.

"'Gin," Mikey's little voice said as he clapped his hands. Mike lit a match and tried to re-light the candle, but Mikey kept blowing out the match. After the fifth try, Mike had given up. I chuckled at the memory, and my mom whipped her head in my direction. I gave her a small smile, telling her I was okay.

"Sit?" Edward asked as we moved to the love seat. Edward sat close and told Mikey how cute he was. Rachel quickly moved from the floor to Edward's lap.

We watched the entire video, and it was exactly what I needed. I felt lighter, and I truly felt like everything was going to be okay. We ended up having dinner with my parents, and then we left Edward's car in Forks. He said the car would be back at our house by morning. That night I slept soundly, and Edward even got up with the kids the next morning so I could sleep in.

A couple more weeks went by, and everything was going great. I was even kissing Edward again. I hadn't forgiven him, but I knew there was nothing I could do about the situation. I was still on the fence about the whole baby thing, too. Edward hadn't mentioned it since Forks, but I would give him a baby if he truly wanted one. I just really didn't think he wanted one.

One night, I had started watching a lifetime movie, and I just had to stay up to see the end. I heard Edward pull in, and when I looked at the clock, I saw that it was barely eleven o'clock. My movie was at a commercial break, so I went to the front room to see if he wanted me to warm up his dinner. I knew he wasn't expecting me to be standing there, because his voice said it all. My eye narrowed at him, and all my anger came back that I had the month before. Everything that I had worked at and tried to put behind me, came back full-force.

"I. Hate. YOU!" I walked away and went to our room. I knew the mob killed people, but I didn't want to have actual knowledge of it. Seeing Edward with blood on his shirt made me hate him more than ever.

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><p>Okay I know some of you are going to have a fit over all this, but please trust me! I am a hea whore so there is no need to worry about the ending. Remember two stops forward, one step back.<p>

Review and let me know what your thoughts are!


	18. Chapter 18

Thanks for all the amazing reviews I have been getting! Keep them coming they make my days!

I own nothing but the plot proudly.

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><p>The weeks flew by, and before I knew it, summer was here and the kids were out of school. They were all excited, and couldn't wait to sleep in. I had to roll my eyes, because their idea of 'sleeping in', was eight o'clock. Both of the boys did so well in school, and were all ready for first and third grade. Rachel was going to be starting per-kindergarten, and she was so excited! It was all she was talking about. It was going to be weird when she started school. I knew I was going to be so sad when she left, even if it was only for half a day.<p>

All three of the kids had their birthday parties. My babies were eight, six, and four. Their birthdays were all in the month of May, so I always did their parties together. The birthday party was the first time I had spent any time with Edward's family, since the disastrous Sunday dinner. I was a little uncomfortable, but the kids had a blast. Esme and Alice asked if I would go out to lunch with them, and I told them I would when my kids went with my parents for a weekend. I was just playing nice so nothing was started at my kid's party. I was able to avoid them for a while, but in mid-July, my parents asked to take the kids for a week. They wanted to go camping, and the kids were too excited for me to say no. I ended up crying when they left. I had never been away from them for a whole week before. Edward tried to comfort me, but he was the last person I wanted.

Edward and I were on better terms, but we still had a lot of distance between us. Tori found out from her informant that he didn't know any more about the Cullens, and I was disappointed. I really didn't know what I wanted to hear, but it seemed that no one had anything bad to say about the Cullens. I was lying around the house when Edward came home in a nasty mood. It was only the second day that the kids had been gone, and I was bored. He was so pissed off, and all he was doing was staring at me.

"What?" I asked as I stared back at him.

"You are going out to lunch with my mother and sister tomorrow," he said as I rolled my eyes. "They have been trying to call you all day. Where is your phone?"

"Right here. Oh look, I have six missed calls," I say in a fake shocked voice.

"Cut your shit!" he yelled at me. He hadn't yelled at me in a while. "We have been fine! Why are you being an asshole to my family?"

"I don't want to have lunch with them. I don't want to go to your stupid fake family dinners. I don't want anything to do with your family," I said, talking to him as if he was stupid.

"You are a fucking bitch! You are going tomorrow and that is _final_!" he yelled again.

"Why are you yelling?" I asked as he glared at me.

"Because I'm pissed! Because you can't fucking get over anything! Because I miss my wife! Because I'm starting to hate you!" he said as my eyes filled with tears. "Don't like to be told you're hated do you?" he asked as I lay back down on the couch. I didn't want him to hate me; he had no reason to.

"I don't care if you hate me. You're stuck with me either way. You might as well go back to whatever girl you are fucking and leave me alone," I said as he punched the wall. I had never seen him that mad before. He swiftly walked over to the couch and lay on top of me. That was the closest we had been in months, and we slept in the same bed every night. He kissed my lips and then pulled back.

"I'm sorry," he said as he kissed me again.

"What's wrong?" I asked as he moved us so we were facing each other on our sides.

"My dad has been riding my ass," he said as he played with my hair. "I don't hate you. I've tried to hate you, but I just can't. You haven't told me that you love me in four months, and I miss it. I know I did this all wrong, I know, but I need to know if you truly hate me."

"I have to. I see myself getting crushed. If I let myself fully love you again, and something happens to you, I won't know what to do with myself. Part of me hates you for taking away my love," I said as he placed his forehead on mine. "I never thought I would ever love again, and then this pushy, cocky asshole shows up and I fall in love like a stupid school girl. If it wasn't for Tori, I would be going insane right now. For some reason, she feels safe having a mobster living next door," I said as his head wiped up.

"You told her!"

"No, she knew," I said as he stared at me.

"Baby, that can't happen. She can't know."

"She always thought it was a rumor. She doesn't know anything," I told him as he kissed my lips again.

"I'm sorry," he said as he picked up his phone.

"What are you doing?" I asked, suddenly nervous.

"She can't know about us and not be one of us," he said as I started to cry.

"Don't kill her! She has a kid," I said as the tears streamed down my face.

"Calm down baby. I'm not going to kill her, but I am going to make her one of us," he said as I heard someone pick up on the other end. "Go ask Tori out, and _don't_ take no for an answer."

"Edward, no," I whispered as he rubbed his fingers down my cheek.

"Yeah, let me know if there is anything Bella and I can do to help," he said as I cried harder.

"What if she says no? Edward, please! I will do anything. Don't have her killed, please. I will tell you I love you every day if it will keep you from hurting her. Please, I will even have sex with you again, just please, please..." I said as he placed his finger over my lips.

"Bella, there is nothing I can do if she doesn't marry James," he said as I cried into his shirt. "Let's just wait and see what happens. Do you understand now why we lie sometimes? Would you lie to Tori right now if it meant she could live?"

"Yes, but I don't want this for her. I don't want to be a liar."

"We do what we have to do. If she says no, you will have to convince her to be with him without telling her why, or she will be taken care of."

"I love you, I love you so much. Please don't hurt her! I wouldn't ever be able to love you if you hurt someone I loved. Please?" I begged as I kissed him. I kissed him like it was my last day on earth. He kissed me back and pulled me close. His hands were placed on my ass and his erection was poking me.

"Oh, Bella, I love you so much," he said as his hands went up my shirt. "You're so soft. I have missed you so much."

"I love you," I said as he left amazing wet kisses all over my neck. When I started kissing him, it was in hopes that he would leave my friend alone, but once we got into it, I didn't want to stop. I missed being with him. It had been four months since we had been together. I didn't even realize how horny I was. Before I knew it, we were both naked and he was inside of me. I came quickly as he pushed in and out of me.

"This feels so good," I moaned as he rocked back and forth.

"I know. I want to cum so badly, but I don't want this to end," he said as he threw his head back. "Cum one more time, baby," he said as he pushed my legs further back. That one movement sent me over the edge again, and we came together. He pushed into me two more times before he pulled out of me. "Fuck, baby. Thank you."

"I didn't even realize how bad I needed that," I said as he kissed me. I closed my eyes and felt Edward lay next to me.

I ended up falling asleep. I heard my phone going off a while later, and when I opened my eyes, it was dark out. I moved around in the dark, looking for my phone.

"Hello," I answered quickly without looking at the caller ID.

"Don't be mad at me, but I said yes to James. Does that make me crazy?" Tori asked, taking a deep breath. I looked down to my sleeping husband, and I knew what I had to do.

"I'm happy if you're happy." I wanted to tell her that was a good choice, but I couldn't bring myself to say such a thing.

"Good, because you are going out with us."

"What?"

"I didn't want to go alone, and James wasn't opposed to the idea of a double date, so be ready in an hour," she said quickly and then hung up on me. Just as I was collecting my thoughts, Edward's phone was going off. He flipped over quickly and grabbed his phone without even opening his eyes. All Edward said was hello and yeah before he hung up.

"Get ready, we are going out to dinner," he said rubbing my back.

"I know," I said as I picked up my clothes and headed for the shower. We moved quietly around each other as we woke up from our nap. I started the shower and got in under the warm water. When I heard Edward come into the bathroom, I had a feeling he wanted to shower with me.

"Can I get in with you?" he asked, clearing his throat.

"Yeah," I said as he slowly stepped in. We awkwardly worked around each other, and if one of us bumped into each other, we would say sorry.

"Babe, I can't do this anymore," he said as he stood in front of me. He was all wet and naked, and it was hard to listen to him speak. "Are we okay?"

"I don' know," I said with a shrug. "I don't think things will be like they used to, but I'll try to be less mean." He pulled my wet body to his and hugged me tight. I was still a little standoffish to him, but I did place my hands on his lower back.

"I'm so happy," he said kissing me.

"We need to get out," I said as I pulled away from him. He kissed me, and I kissed him back without him begging me to. He pulled back and smiled at me.

"Thank you for today," he said as I gave him a tight lipped smile.

"I didn't do anything."

"You gave me hope," he said as I wrapped a towel around my body. I knew there was nothing I could do about the whole mob thing, but I knew I was never going to be lovey-dovey with Edward again. I couldn't bring myself to be like that with him.

"Where are we going?" I asked as Edward handed me my black dress.

"Babe, I know you don't want to do this, but this is part of our life," he said as I put my dress on.

"I know."

"We have to show her that we are happy, even if we aren't. We have to make Tori want this life."

"I know," I said sadly. Once we were ready, we headed for the restaurant, and when we arrived, I put on my happy face. Tori needed to marry James. I walked hand-in-hand with Edward, and spotted Tori from a mile away. She had on a gray dress that came just above her knees, making her legs look really long. She had her wavy red hair hanging down her back. She was so beautiful.

"Hey," she said with a smile. "Please don't be mad," she whispered as she hugged me.

"It's fine," I said giving her a smile. "I'm hungry." She laughed as we walked behind the boys.

Edward sat close to me and I leaned into him. We talked about our kids mostly. It wasn't like we could talk about the mob. I watched as Tori watched Edward and me closely. She knew I wasn't feeling him lately, so I knew she wanted to play twenty questions. James was very gentlemanly. I was a little shocked because he had always seemed like a bad ass. Edward kissed my temple and I saw Tori roll her eyes. She knew something was going on when Edward fed me a taste of his food. I said I loved it, and we kissed. Tori busted out laughing.

"I get it now," she said as she laughed more. "It's a little shady, but I get it."

"What are you talking about?" James asked.

"You're a great friend, Bella. I thought the two of you weren't even talking? Now you are sitting all close, putting on a fake smile?" she said crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say anything. You know I wouldn't put you in this position," I said as she nodded.

"I thought you were better than that to tattle to your husband," she said glaring at me.

"Bella let it slip, big deal. We would have found out eventually anyway. She was telling me how you are her saving grace, and I put the pieces together," Edward said as I stayed quiet. He was lying for me, and I would have to thank him later.

"Whatever. So is this a join or die type of thing?" Tori asked as I slouched in my seat.

"How much do you know?" James asked, taking her hand.

"Not much. All I know is what I had ever heard around," she said looking down at her lap and shaking her head. "This is so fucking stupid!"

"Like you told me when I first found out, it's not so bad. Nothing has really changed, and there is no getting out of it, so..." I said, trailing off.

"You're such a fucking liar, but I get it. You all have to stick together," she said giving me a wink. She could be such a bitch. "So I have to marry you, or do I get a pick of all the single thirty-four year olds?" she asked as I busted out laughing.

"Oh! You could marry Edward's uncle. He's about ready to die," I said as Tori laughed and Edward nudged me. "Or there is this creepy guy with black, funny hair."

"Aro?" James asked, rolling his eyes.

"I like creepy," Tori said as we laughed. "Oh! I wonder if Alice would be into a threesome thing! Jasper is delicious!"

"I would go for Emmett. Have you seen his muscles?" I said as we laughed even harder.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Edward asked as he laughed.

"I need to be married by October; I think I'm your best choice," James said, playing along with our little game.

"Why is thirty-five so significant?" I asked as I looked at Edward.

"My grandfather didn't want to get married. My great-grandfather said that was unacceptable, and told him that if he wasn't married in a year, which was his thirty-fifth birthday, he would be out. So he made the rule for all the men," Edward said as I nodded.

"So, you never wanted to get married either?" I asked.

"Not until I met you," he said with a smile.

"Gag me," Tori said as I laughed. "Anyway, what happens if you hate me? Will you cheat on me?" she asked as I watched James smile smugly at her.

"If we were found cheating, our fathers would probably beat the shit out of us," James said.

"So you do whatever your father's tell you?" I asked.

"Yeah, pretty much," Edward said with a tight lipped smile. Tori and I both got a good laugh out of that.

By the end of the evening, Tori had agreed to marry James. I knew I wanted to talk to her and get inside her head. I wanted to know if she truly cared or if she was doing what had to be done. Maybe she didn't care?

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><p>So things are getting better? We will see! Thanks to some of the most amazing women that I get to work with! I love you guys!<p>

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	19. Chapter 19

The loud bang rang out through the cellar-like room. I liked shooting a gun; it made me feel liberated. Tori was a freaking pro at it. The guy that was teaching us even asked her if she'd had lessons in the past. When she said that it was her first time, I was pretty sure the man fell in love with her. It took me a little while to get the hang of it, but by the end, I was confident I could aim and shoot someone if necessary. Although, I truly hoped that time would never come.

Edward and I had been okay lately. We weren't great, but we weren't necessarily bad, either. It really hurt the day he told me he was starting to hate me. I knew it hurt him to hear when I told him the same thing, but I never realized how much. He was giving the kids and me the life he promised, but that wasn't enough. It was hard for me to believe anything that he would tell me. He would say he was at the bar, and I would automatically assume he was out killing someone. I didn't want to know if he was killing people, but I didn't want him to lie to me about it either.

"That was fun," Tori said with a smile.

"It was! We will have to do this again," I said, returning her smile. "I'm sorry you were brought into this life."

"It is what it is, Bella," she said as I nodded. "James is pretty awesome, though."

"Really?" I asked.

"He is so funny and sweet. He's very homey, and Seth just loves him. He says he even likes James better than Garrett."

"Is he drinking again?" I asked. Garrett is Seth's father, and he is kind of a dead-beat. He had been in and out of Seth's life since birth. Drugs and booze have always been more important to him than his own son.

"I'm not sure. I know he is doing _something_," she said with a sad shrug. "Part of me wishes he hadn't cleaned up after Seth was born. I know I could have gotten him to give up his rights. Although, this will be his third strike with the courts, so we will have to wait to see what happens," she said. I knew she was sad over the whole ordeal. She had told me numerous times that Garrett could be an amazing guy...when he was sober. Garrett wasn't always bad, she would say. He just lost his way at some point and never fully recovered from his addictions.

"Edward and I have to have a baby," I told her as her mouth dropped. "I just stopped taking my birth control."

"I thought you didn't want any more kids?"

"I don't, but I won't let Edward adopt the kids, and he needs a namesake."

"Shit! I didn't know that! I don't want any more kids," she said as she started to bite her nails. "I have time to think this over, right?"

"Yeah...well, at least I think so," I said as she swatted me.

I was glad she was okay with the way everything had turned out for her. I felt so bad, but she had always been a 'just go with it' type of person. I wish I was more like her at times. Like I told her, I had stopped taking my birth control, but I had yet to tell Edward. I left the kids with Edward when I went shooting with Tori. I was trying to show him that I trusted him more. I needed to do it for myself, and for Edward. He had never done wrong toward the kids and I knew he was a good father. Edward didn't even know I was going to the shooting range. I knew if he did, he would be pissed. He thought I was going shopping, and the fact that I didn't bring anything back with me, completely slipped my mind. When I walked into the house, it was too quiet, so I called out to see if any one was home. There was no response at first, until a very pissed-off looking Edward made himself known.

"Oh, hey. Where are the kids?" I asked.

"With my mom. They are making cupcakes. You didn't buy anything?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No, I didn't find anything I really liked," I said with a shrug.

"Why are you lying to me?"

"I'm not."

"You fucking are!" He yelled at me, making me flinch back. "I know where you were." Fucking Liam. "Why are you lying to me?"

"Because," was my mature answer.

"Un-fucking-real! A gun range, Bella? Seriously?"

"What's the big deal? I want to know how to protect my kids. I'm not going to just sit here and hope that you are home when something happens," I said with an eye roll.

"Fuck! Why lie to me?"

"You are not my father. It is none of your business what I do."

"Cut your fucking shit right now! I get why you wanted to learn, but why not come to me?" he asked, suddenly looking hurt.

"I wanted to learn the legal way..."

"Jasper owns the fucking shooting range you were at!" he yelled, cutting me off. "Come to me next time. I want to know why you lied to me."

"Why are you freaking out? You lied to me for months!" I said as he threw his hands in the air.

"How the fuck do you expect me to protect you if you lie about where you are?" he growled out at me.

"How did you know where I was? Oh yeah, that's right…Liam. Don't act like you not knowing where I am is that big of a deal," I said as I walked away from him.

"Bella, please don't lie to me. I'm sorry, once again, for lying to you, but you can't lie to me. What if Liam lost track of you? Then what?" he asked as I sat on our bed.

"Whatever, I get it," I said. There was no way in hell I was apologizing. "I'm going to go pick up the kids."

"Nope, we are going out on a date, and then we will pick them up together." I stared at him like he was speaking a foreign language.

"Why?"

"Because I miss spending time with you."

"Oh, okay. Where are we going so I know how to dress?" I was done fighting with him on everything. I knew the quickest way to get my kids would be to just go to dinner.

"We're just going to the grill," he said as I nodded. He stared at me as I pulled a pair of jeans and a fitted tee out of my dresser.

"Is it just us?" I asked, not wanting any surprises.

"Yeah, babe," he said with a chuckle. It was scary how well he knew me sometimes.

"Are you going to be around tomorrow night?" I asked as he drove us to the grill.

"Yes, I should be home all weekend."

"Okay, you may have the kids for a few hours," I told him as he nodded in understanding.

"What do you have planned?"

"Oh, and you may have Seth, too."

"I'm not a fucking babysitter," he said, getting huffy.

"Whatever," I said as I sent Tori a text saying that Edward had no problem watching Seth. "Just invite James over."

"What are you planning?" he asked again.

"I don't know yet," I said as he shook his head at me. I sent a text to Alice and Esme next, asking if they were able to go to dinner the next day. Alice quickly sent back a 'yes', but Esme didn't answer. I knew I could talk to her when we picked up the kids, though, so I wasn't worried about it.

"Who are you texting?"

"No one," I said as he huffed. "I'll let you know when everything is set in stone. Nothing bad, I promise," I said as he rolled his eyes.

"We are going to have sex tonight," he said out of the blue. We had just arrived at the grill, and we walking through the parking lot when he brought it up.

"Whatever."

"I would really like it if you enjoyed it," he said as I laughed.

"I don't think I will really be in the mood."

"Of course not," he said as he held open the door for me.

We walked past the hostess to the back of the grill. I didn't even bother looking at the menu, knowing what I wanted already. Once I sent my last text to Tori, I set my phone down and watched the TV overhead. There was a baseball game on, and I found baseball to be so boring. It was right up there with golf and tennis. I could feel Edward's eyes on me, but he wasn't saying anything.

"Did you have fun today?" he finally asked after we had placed our order.

"Yes," I said as I watched a guy strike out.

"Are you any good?" It was obvious that he wanted to have a conversation. For some reason, I was in a pretty good mood, so I went with it.

"I'm pretty sure I could kill someone," I said as he chuckled. "If I were James, though, I would be scared of my soon-to-be-wife. That bitch is crazy good with a gun. Whoever the guy is that runs the place, was in awe of her," I said as Edward smiled brightly. Yeah, that was his face every time I carried on a conversation with him.

"Black guy?" he asked as I nodded. "That's Laurant. He is good friends with James. You didn't tell him your last name was Cullen did you?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"He would have turned you away," he said as I glared.

"Why?"

"Because if we wanted you to learn how to shoot, we would teach you. I'll take you again if you want to go. I would actually love to see you shoot a gun," he said with a smile.

"Sure, you can go next weekend when I go to pick up my gun," I said, knowing that would piss him off.

"You bought one?"

"No not yet, but you can help me pick one out," I said as he shook his head.

"I don't know how I feel about this," he said, giving me a pathetic look.

"Please don't tell me no. This will give me some piece of mind," I said as he rubbed my cheek with the back of his hand.

"You don't fully trust me," he said as I stared at him. "Okay, I will get you a gun, but," he said, giving me a smug smile, "you have to have sex with me tonight." I busted out laughing; he was being kind of cute.

"We'll see. I want a legal gun, as well," I said as he took his turn to bust out laughing. He promised that my gun would be legal.

I enjoyed my time at dinner. It was probably the most fun I'd had in a while with him. He was high on life because I carried on a conversation with him for most of dinner. I even let him hold my hand on the way to his parent's house. I knew I had to let go of the grudge I was holding. This was my life, and I couldn't be miserable for the rest of it. I wanted to talk to Alice and Esme, because I knew they would make me feel better...maybe. I didn't know what I wanted to get out of dinner, but I knew I wanted to hear their side of things. Maybe I would even learn something new. Before we arrived at the Cullen house, I checked my phone, seeing that Esme had texted me back, saying that she would love to go.

"I'm going out to dinner with your mother and Alice tomorrow," I said as Edward quickly glanced at me and then to road.

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

"That's great, baby. That makes me very happy," he said kissing the back of my hand.

"Don't expect miracles," I said as he chuckled.

"I'm just happy you are going to talk to them. Although, I know Alice will talk your ear off," he said with a bright smile. "Thank you." I didn't say anything back. He knew going out to dinner was another way of me proving that I was trying.

Once we were at Esme's, the kids were hyper as hell! Rachel told me that they had lots of cuppycakes; I could tell. After we got the kids ready to leave, we thanked Esme and then were out the door. The kids talked all the way home. Getting them to bed was a bigger chore than usual. I even heard Edward raise his voice at Rachel, and that didn't happen very often. In the time I was able to get the boys to bed, Edward was still struggling with Rachel. I was going to just let him deal with it, but she wasn't going to give up any time soon.

"Rachel Marie, it's time for bed," I said in a stern voice. I almost laughed when she laid right down.

"Mommy's mad, Daddy," she said in what I was sure she thought was a whisper.

"You shouldn't give Edward such a hard time, Rach. He won't want to put you to bed anymore if you do," I said as her eyes grew big.

"I'm sorry, Daddy, but I'm not tired," she said with a big yawn.

"You are. Goodnight…I love you," Edward said, kissing her head softly.

"Love you, kiddo," I said after I kissed her too. I saw her eyes closing before I could even shut the light off.

"When you are talking to the kids, why do you always say Edward, and not Dad or Daddy?" he asked as we sat on the couch.

"Because that's your name," I said as he nodded his head. "Don't take it to heart; I just can't call you Dad when I'm talking to them."

As we sat on the couch watching TV, I started to doze off. I told Edward I was going to bed. Before I could stand up, he took hold of my head and he stared at me. His eyes held mine, and I broke out in cold chills. When he pulled me to him, I went willingly. The look in his eyes made me want him, and that wasn't a feeling I'd had in a while. He put one of his hands on the side of my face and just stared into my eyes for a few minutes.

"I love you more than I ever thought possible, and it kills me to know that you hate me," he said as his eyes filled with tears.

"I...I don't hate you," I told him. "Just give me some more time, okay?"

"Yeah. Anything you need. Just don't ever doubt my love for you."

"I won't," I said as he kissed me. I kissed him back, and he pulled me tightly against his body. My hands moved on their own accord, intertwining my fingers into his hair so I could pull him closer to me. "I do love you; you know this. I just get so mad sometimes, and I want you to hurt as much as I do," I said as he inhaled.

"I do know. I just hate that I keep hurting you."

"I don't think there is really anything you can do about that," I said with a chuckle. "I have something to tell you," I said, pulling back a little. A disappointed looked crossed his face and I didn't understand why.

"I don't want to know. I just want my wife tonight," he said as he quickly got to his feet and pulled me to the bedroom. By the time I was topless, I was able to regain my focus.

"It's nothing bad, Edward, and it has to do with sex," I said as he sucked one of my nipples into his mouth. "I stopped taking my birth control." His movements stopped instantly, and he looked up to my face.

"Are we really doing this?" he asked.

"Well...yeah, I thought we had to."

"Yes, but I thought you would have fought me more," he said with his crooked smile.

"I do what I have to for my family," I said as he covered my mouth with his.

We made love then, and I enjoyed myself so much, I wanted to do it again. It was time for me to move on; I had to live with the choices that I had made. I just couldn't be mad anymore.

* * *

><p>Here is the beginning of the end. There are only a few more chapters left and that will be it.<p>

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	20. Chapter 20

I woke the next morning, feeling completely refreshed. I had a feeling it was going to be a good day. Everyone was in a good mood, and that was nice for a change. After breakfast was done, the kids went to pick up their rooms. It was the first time that Edward had been home for room cleaning day, and he was losing his patience with the kids. They hated to clean, so it was always a fight with them. After a couple of hours and some teeth pulling, the rooms were in better shape. Edward was sitting on the couch, completely exhausted, while I started lunch. I had a feeling it would be pretty comical once we had a baby to care for.

Just as I sat down to eat, our doorbell rang. Edward jumped up all excited because he was expecting his cousin or friend...I wasn't really listening to what he was saying. As I took my first bite of lunch, the kids were finishing theirs. I guess I was eating alone. The kids ran off to their rooms, and I could hear Edward making his way back to the dining room. I took a sip of my drink before turning back to my food, but I wasn't able to take a bite. The man, who had made my life a living hell for six months after Mike died, walked into my kitchen. I stood up so fast that I knocked the chair over.

"Get out of my house!" I yelled as the guy put his hands up in surrender. Edward put his hand under his hoodie; I knew he was reaching for his gun.

"Bella..." the dude said.

"No!You don't get to be nice to me. Get the fuck out of my house! Edward, make him leave!" I shouted as Edward moved toward me. I grabbed a hold of Edward and pulled him tightly against me. "Shoot him! Do whatever you have to do to get him out of our house. I paid you everything Mike owed!" I screamed as Edward looked from me to the guy.

"Bella, this is Felix," Edward said as if I cared.

"Awesome, now make him leave or I will grab the kids and run."

"Her dead husband took a loan out and never paid. I was in charge of collecting it," Flex told Edward.

"He threatened to kill my kids if I didn't pay. I didn't even know Mike had borrowed money," I said as I hid from Felix.

"Let's sit down and talk about this," Edward said as I backed away from him.

"You want me to sit down and talk to the asshole who stalked me for weeks? Not only did he threaten my kids, but he said he would get his payment one way or the other."

"Baby, Felix is one of my cousins. Wait...you threatened to rape my wife?"

"I did what I had to do to get our money back," Felix said as Edward's fist clenched. "She was nothing to you at the time."

"I'm leaving, and when I get back, I want him to be gone," I said through clenched teeth.

"Sit," Edward said, but I refused. I was not going to be nice to the man who threatened me or my children. "He was only doing what he was told to do. Do you think we like threatening people?"

"Yeah! Why else would you do it?" I asked as if they were stupid.

"Bella, I got my ass beat over the fact that I didn't want to be the one to get the money back from you," Felix said.

"Congratulations, do you want a cookie or something?" I asked as Edward scolded me.

"You were my first job; I was new to the business. I'm sorry I scared you," Felix said sincerely.

"Have I told you how much I hate your family?" I asked Edward.

"Not today, dear," he said in a bored tone.

"My life will never be peaceful. I have no idea how I am going to carry a baby under all this stress," I said, talking more to myself than to anyone else.

"You're having a baby!" Felix said with a huge smile.

"No, but we are trying," Edward said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Three kids aren't enough for ya?" Felix asked as I laughed.

"No, we have to have a Cullen spawn to please his father," I said as Edward slammed his hand down on the table.

"Felix, give me a minute with my wife," Edward said as he pulled me out of the dining room. "I have had enough of your mouth!"

"I have had enough of your family!"

"I know what Felix did was wrong, but he was under orders. You can't just ignore them! I'm sorry, but this is one of the things you are just going to have to get over," he said as my eyes filled with tears. Whenever things were going good, something bad had to happen. "Please don't cry. I'm sorry this is who I am. If I could get out, I would...for you."

"Why can't you?" I asked with a hiccup.

"Because I chose this life when I was eighteen."

"Oh," was all I could say with a pout.

"I was sworn in and I gave my word that I would be loyal and would do everything that was asked of me. I gave my word to be married by thirty-five. I did all of that when I was a kid. I'm sorry I brought you into this. When I met you, I thought I could marry you and everything would be okay. I never thought I would fall so hard for you. I'm sorry for a lot of things, I'm not sorry for loving you," he said, taking a deep breath.

"He scared me so badly, Edward. Please don't make me be nice to him right now. Please?" I begged as he hugged me.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I never thought he was part of your family. That was how I knew I was being watched by Liam," I said with a shrug.

"I love you so much," he said kissing me. "I'm going to go out with Felix then, okay?"

"Thank you," I said with a small smile.

"You are just becoming a little more comfortable with my family; I would do anything for you," he said, kissing me again. "I'll be back soon."

I didn't leave the room until I heard the front door shut. I had no clue how or why Mike borrowed money from the mob. I wish I could have asked him. I thought it was strange that there was so much money in our account after he died, but never in a millions years, did I ever think he would have gone to the mob. It was hard to believe that Edward could have any involvement in the same business as Felix. Felix was so awful to me, and I didn't want to think about my husband talking like that to another woman, the way Felix spoke me. Every time I started to be okay with my life, there always seemed to be something that had me taking a few steps back. I knew I had to think about what they did as a 'job', but that was something I found very difficult. Edward, for the most part, was sweet to me, and I couldn't believe that he could be cruel to other women. It was a lot to wrap my head around.

By the time Edward arrived home, I had dinner cooked and served. James walked in with him, and they both sat down to eat. I was hoping there would be a way to keep the mob out of my house for the most part. I knew there was no real way to keep the two completely separate, but I knew I was going to do my best. When Tori and Seth showed up a while later, I watched James' face light up; he was definitely falling for her. Seth ran to James and started talking animatedly about something that the two of them were building out of Legos. I think James was good for them, and it took me by surprise when that thought crossed my mind. Edward placed his hands on my shoulder as the four of us talked.

"So, I hear your woman can shoot pretty well," Edward said as I saw the disapproval clear on James' face.

"Yeah, Laurant called and was saying how he met the woman of his dreams. If we were married, I am sure I'd be more pissed off, but there's nothing I can do," James said as he glanced at Tori.

"Bella and I are going to go back next weekend," Edward said as Tori smiled.

"I want to go," she said quickly.

"No," James said as she scowled at him. "I'm busy next weekend and you aren't allowed to go without me. I still can't believe the two of you went in the first place!"

"Get over it already!" Tori said, throwing her hands in the air. "I have a little bit of freedom left, and I am going to take advantage of it." I know it was a horrible thing to think, but I was happy to see the two of them having problems.

"We will see you guys later," I said as I pulled angry Tori away. We stopped by the front door so I could get my shoes on, and we could hear James talking to Edward.

"Dude! How do you deal with the thick-headedness? I'm going crazy with her!"

"Fuck if I know. If you figure it out, let me know," Edward said as I chuckled.

Tori bitched all the way the restaurant about how James blew up at her for going to the shooting range. James told her that things were going to change once they were married, and she was to ask him if she ever wanted to go. I asked Tori what she said, but all she said was that she walked away. They weren't married yet, and when they were,_ that_ was when Tori would be more agreeable. I understood how she felt. Their life was a lot to take in.

Alice, Esme, and Rose were already at the table when we walked up. I wasn't thrilled to see Rose, but there was nothing I could do about it. At first, we all just sat around and made small talk. We ordered drinks and dinner, and then we started getting into the topic of the mob. They each talked about how they dealt with knowing their husbands were in the mob. The mob was the only life Alice had ever known, so it didn't bother her. Rose said she found it incredible sexy, but we were never to tell Emmett that was the way she felt. She was very much in love with him, and he was the one that she wanted to grow old with. Rose hates the lies the most. That was one of the reasons she was so bitchy; she said the lies made her stress, and stress caused wrinkles. She seemed to be pretty cool once you got to know her. I was the first outsider brought into the mob life in almost ten years. Rose was the last. Esme was like me.

"I wanted to kill Carlisle. I almost did," she said as if it was no big deal. "We were young; we were both just eighteen. I was a little wild back in the day, and I had Edward when I was sixteen. Carlisle was not his father, but he was the only father Edward knew. I tried to fight the adoption once I knew about the whole mob thing, but there was really nothing I could do. By the age of twenty, I was married with a house, a kid, a husband and another kid on the way. Sometimes it was all too hard to deal with," she said as I nodded in understanding.

"One morning I woke up and saw dried blood between his fingers…I lost it. I grabbed a gun I had in my nightstand, and held it to his head. I hated him at that point. I was plotting my way out. Carlisle was so scared when he woke with the barrel of a gun to his head," she said as she smiled at the memory. Alice looked mortified.

"Mom! How can you smile?" Alice asked in disbelief.

"Alice, I told you before we left the house that there were going to be things you didn't want to know," Esme said as Alice downed her drink. "Anyway, I liked that he was so scared. He was feeling what I had been feeling for months. Carlisle was quick back then. I ended up on my back, and he had my gun within a matter of seconds. He slept with his gun for months after that," she said as I laughed.

"That's why Edward asked if he needed to sleep with his gun," I said as everyone chuckled.

"Did you say yes?" Alice asked.

"Nope! I told him I wouldn't stoop to his level," I said as Esme busted up laughing.

"That is priceless! I am the reason the rule is set about the gun range," she said looking to Tori and me.

"James is still being a shithead over the whole thing, but now I think he's just scared," Tori said as I agreed with her.

"I don't really have anything bad to say," Alice said as she looked at her hands. "I had a great life growing up and I still do. I have a very happy son, and we are even talking about having another child. I grew up with this life," she said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Bella, I NEVER wanted to lie to you," Alice said turning to me. "In a way, neither of us had a choice. I was told when I turned eighteen that I was going to marry Jasper." She had my full attention. "Now that you are married, we can tell you everything. If Tori didn't already know about us, she wouldn't be able to be here; no offense."

"None taken," Tori said as we turned back to Alice.

"Everyone is told who they are going to marry if there is someone for them who is age appropriate. My father-in-law was my dad's right-hand man, so they agreed when we were young that Jasper and I would get married. We were married the week after I turned eighteen. Jasper is a year older than me, so we just kind of always stuck together," she told me as I nodded.

"Does this law apply to my kids, too?" I asked as Tori agreed.

"Yes. Because you didn't let Edward adopt the kids, Rachel will most likely marry Cash, Mikey and Emma will be married, and Jake will marry Elizabeth," Esme told me as my mouth dropped.

"What about Seth?" Tori asked.

"To early to tell. If James adopts him, it will be harder to arrange his marriage," Rose said. I was a little shocked by knowing all this.

"What if Cash doesn't want to marry Rachel?" I asked. I knew I would never force my child into marriage.

"They will grow up together, so they will have love for one another. Your kids won't be known as cousins. They will be known as friends of the family," Alice said.

"How have we not had knowledge of your family?" I asked as Tori agreed.

"Through the years, the head of the family has taken precautions to keep everyone safe. That is where the arranged marriages come into to play. Marrying within the family helps keep outsiders from coming in and ruining our lives. I can honestly say that I don't know exactly what it is the men deal in, but, I suggest you stay out of it. By not knowing, you will always keep your children safer," Esme said.

"I have been in the mob my entire life, and I can't tell you what they do. All I've ever known is that my dad owns businesses," Alice said.

"But what if they are dealing with prostitutes and drugs? I can't look away from that," I said.

"You have to. If Edward was to go to jail, and you knew why, you could lose your kids," Rose said. That hit home with me. I was too nosey for my own good, and I really wanted to know more, but I truly believed that Rose and Alice didn't know anything.

"Has anyone been killed or shot?" Tori asked. I couldn't have asked a better question myself.

"Emmett's been shot twice," Rose said as if it was no big deal.

"Carlisle was shot three times, but only once was it anything major," Esme too said it as if it was no big deal. "As a mob wife, you learn to grin and bear it, Bella. There really isn't anything else you can do."

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><p>Grin and bear it? Do you think Bella is going to be able to handle all this? There are three chapters left and that is it for this story! Thanks for all the reviews, I really love them, so keep them coming!<p>

Thanks to my girls for all the help they give me. I really work with the best group of girls anyone could ever ask for! I love you guys.

My group on facebook is full of an awesome group of women! We all have been sharing recs and have some pretty great conversations. If you would like to join there is a link on my profile!


	21. Chapter 21

I'm going to be posting the last of the chapters throughout the next couple of days! Thanks to my girls for working so hard on this story! I asked my facebook girls how they wanted me to post. I gave them the option of me posting them all at once or once a week. Some wanted them now and some wanted to wait to this is my compromise. Enjoy!

I own nothing but the plot!

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><p>After the dinner with the girls, I had a lot on my mind. I understood what they were telling me about being left in the dark, but I just didn't know if I could handle not knowing. I guess I would have to, though, there was no questioning that. I knew it was going to take me a long while to get used to everything. Edward walked into the bedroom late, but I was still awake. I propped myself up on my elbows, and watched him do his nightly routine. He pulled his coat off and hung it on the back of the chair in the room. I saw his gun, and I watched as he locked it away in the top of our closet. He pulled out his sleep pants, but had yet to notice that I was watching him.<p>

"How come you can't feel it when someone is watching you?" I asked him as he quickly twirled around.

"Fuck, Bella! You scared the shit out if me," he said, holding his chest. "I thought you were sleeping."

"Has a wife ever tried to leave their husband?" I asked as he narrowed his eyes.

"Please don't start this again," he said as he finished undressing.

"No, I'm not saying I am going to try to leave. I was simply asking out of curiosity."

"Why do you want to know?"

"What would happen if I did try to leave?"

"I would find you and bring you back here by any means necessary. Why are you asking?" he asked as he crawled into bed. "Did you have a nice time at dinner? Sorry I had to run out of here when you got home."

"It was very informative. It makes me want to ask more questions than I think I want answers for, but yeah, it was good," I said as he chuckled.

"Marcus...his wife took off when she found out," he told me as I smiled.

"Why didn't you tell me you were adopted?" I asked as he shrugged.

"Never crossed my mind. Carlisle is my father," he said before closing his eyes. "I would really love to talk to you more, I truly would, but I'm so tired."

"Yeah, go to sleep," I said as he snuggled into his pillow more.

"Stop staring at me. I don't want to hear one word about you being tired tomorrow," he said, not opening his eyes. With a huff, I lay down and stared at the ceiling.

"Goodnight," I said before I shut the lamp off.

"Can I hold you?" he asked once I had my back to him and I was settled.

"If you want to," I said as he moved closer to me. He wrapped one arm around my waist and pulled me into him more. I let out a sigh and closed my eyes.

Wedding planning had started for Tori and James. She was into it so much more than I ever was. I wasn't a crafty person and I wasn't good with putting colors together either. I told her while planning my wedding, that she should seek a career change. She was great at wedding planning. She was always cool, calm, and collected. She seemed happy, so I was happy for her. She said she felt like she was right where she was supposed to be, and I envied her for that. I wish I felt that way, but I was just taking things day by day, and feeling a little lost.

Edward and I were doing okay. I saw him step up and be the father he should be. I just hoped it would last. What I really wished, was that I could get there with him. I wanted to be happy again. Part of me wished that I had never found out about the mob; my life was whole before I knew.

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><p>EPOV<p>

I didn't know what was up with Bella, but I was not complaining. She wanted to have sex every day for the past week. I had been in a great mood. I think she was trying to get pregnant. I had heard her saying something to Tori about not having kids over the age of thirty, but she still had a few years to go. Who was I to complain, though? I was able to be with my wife in the most intimate way. She was enjoying having sex with me again, too. I only knew because she came every time. If it wasn't for her orgasms, I would never know if she liked it or not. When we first got together, we would always sleep tangled up with one another. Now, she slept on one side and I slept on the other. One night, I told her thank you, and that the sex had been great. She just looked at me and gave me a high five. I had no idea what to think; who the hell high fives after making love? I was taking what I could get when it came to her, though. She wasn't fighting me on every little thing, anymore, so I showed her the same respect.

She had been busy with Tori's wedding planning, so she never got her gun. I didn't like the thought of her having one, but I knew it would make her feel safer. That was all I wanted, and I hoped that one day she would fully trust me again. Currently, she was doing only what was expected of her and nothing else. She was being more sociable with my family, and I liked that. She wasn't being overly friendly, but at least she was being civil. To me, that showed that she was trying, and that was all I asked of her.

I wanted to take Bella out and have some us time. I loved going out to dinner with her; it seemed to help us a little. I decided I was going to have to find time every week, or at least every other week, where just the two of us would go out. I loved spending time with her. She did seem to be a little standoffish about leaving the kids with my mom, and I was pretty sure that part would never go away, but in a way, I felt like I was getting to know her all over again. She had changed so much since we were married; she seemed like a different person.

"Where are we going?" she asked as we drove through town.

"You'll see," I told her. She looked pretty nervous. "It's something fun, I promise." She gave me a small smile, and laid her head back against the seat. I liked to get her away from the kids occasionally, for the simple fact that she always seemed somewhat more relaxed.

"You're such a great mom," I said as she smiled.

"Thanks, but what are you buttering me up for?" she asked with a laugh.

"I just feel like I don't tell you often enough," I said, giving her a toothy smile.

"You're such a dork," she said with a giggle. "Oh! We are going shooting?" she asked, excitement lacing her voice.

"If you would like. You never got the gun you wanted, so I thought we could pick one out together," I said as she smiled.

"Thank you." I was shocked when she didn't pull away when I took her hand in mine after we got out of the car. We walked through the front, and Laurent was quick to start apologizing.

"Edward I am so sorry. I did not know she was your wife," he said once we reached him.

"It's all good, man. I told her she can't come back without me," I said as I shrugged my shoulders. "Anyway, we are going to shoot for a little while. Did you get Bella's license yet?"

"No, I didn't send it in once I found out she was your wife. James gave me an ear full over the whole thing," Laurent explained.

"That's fine, do you still have it? I don't mind if Bella has a gun."

"Yeah, I still have it here, and I will put it in now. She should have it within a week." With that, I pulled Bella by the arm, and we headed to the back. She laughed as we made our way through where people were shooting because I covered her ears. She tilted her head up and smiled at me. She was so beautiful. I closed the door on one of the private booths, effectively shutting out the sound of the other gunfire.

"So, I want to see what you've got," I said as I handed her all of her safety-wear. She looked so cute. I even took a picture when she wasn't looking. I watched as she pointed the gun and fired. Her stance was wrong, and she wasn't even holding the gun right. I was shocked when she was able to hit the target.

"Well?" she asked with a smirk when the clip and chamber were empty.

"Not horrible," I said as she pouted. "Baby, I have no idea how you are hitting the target."

"That's what he said," Bella explained, pointing to the front desk. "It feels awkward if I do it the right way."

"I understand that," I told her as I walked up behind her. I changed the clip and I pulled her body flush with mine. I would do anything to keep her close to me. "You smell so good," I said, breathing in her hair.

"Stop messing around and teach me," she giggled, bumping her butt into me. Her giggle made me want to mess around a little more, though.

"You look so sexy," I said moving so I could palm her ass.

"Edward," she said with another laugh. "Teach me how to shot a gun! I already know about sex." My response was to kiss her cheek.

When I pulled away, I positioned her body the right way, allowing my hands to linger on her thighs. Every time she giggled or laughed out loud, it made me smile. Finally, I wrapped my hands around hers, and with my help, she hit the bull's eye. She jumped up and down with excitement. She let me help her a few more times before I let her do it on her own. It took forever to get her stance right without me standing behind her. At one point, I was pretty sure she was doing it on purpose. I didn't care though; I loved holding her close to me.

After picking out the gun she wanted, she asked me if we could go out to eat. Of course I told her yes, and we talked the entire time. It was the best date ever. Everything was falling into place…I hoped. After dinner, we headed to my parents' to pick up the kids. When we arrived at their house, my mom told me that they were in the playroom, and that they were very well behaved. I always felt so full of pride when someone would tell me how well-behaved our kids were. It made me feel like I was doing something right.

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><p>Bpov<p>

My date with Edward had been…amazing. We had so much fun together, and it was way overdue. I was even pretending that I couldn't hold the gun right, just so Edward would show me again and again. I think he liked it, though. Even dinner was awesome. We talked about nothing of importance; in fact, we just talked. We talked about guns, the weather, the kids, even a little bit about the family. It was truly one of the best nights we had together in what felt like a very long time. I needed to let my guard down and just let him love me, and I needed to return that love. I did love him. I loved him very much. I knew I had to get past all the lies, and after tonight, I knew I could.

When we showed up at Esme's to get the kids, Edward was messing around and grabbing my ass. I kept playfully swatting his hand away, but I didn't really want him to stop. Esme heard us laughing and came out of the kitchen to say hello. She gave us the biggest smile; she knew we were getting along better. She told us the kids were very well-behaved, and Edward couldn't hide his smile. He was so proud. I knew he was feeling more and more like their father, and I didn't think that was a bad thing.

Edward stayed out in the living room with Esme while I went to get the kids. I stood in the doorway and watched them play for a few minutes. Mikey was playing a video game and helping Jake. I loved to see them getting along. Rachel was coloring a picture with her back to me.

"Mikey, how do you spell daddy?" Rach asked as I smiled. Mikey spelled it slow enough for her to write her letters. "How 'bout mommy?" Again, Mikey spelled the word for her. She was so smart, and I knew her picture would have 'mommy' and 'daddy', along with an 'I', a heart, and then the letter u. She loved to write that. She was too sweet.

"Hey," I said from the doorway. Rachel whipped around and ran to me with the picture in her hand.

"Look! I colored for you and daddy! You can put it in your room!" she said as I picked her up.

"I love it!" I said giving her a loud kiss. The picture was of two Precious Moments characters kissing. The word 'mommy' was written above the little girl's head, and 'daddy' was above the boy. "Clean up and we can go home." They all started picking up and I was shocked. They never cleaned that fast...ever.

I walked back out to the living room and I heard Esme and Edward talking. I was going to let myself be known, but I was getting to see a new side of Edward…the mamma's boy side. I didn't know he even had it in him. He was talking to her as if she was his best friend.

"She even hugged me. Do you know how long it has been since she just hugged me because she was happy or excited? She will only hug me if I hug her. Who would have thought I would happy to get hugged by my wife," he said with a head shake.

"Kiddo, you lied to her; that takes time to get over. Your father told you it would be hard. She's coming around, though. I saw it when you guys walked in. I haven't seen either one of you look so carefree in a long time," Esme said as I smiled.

"I love her so much, and the kids are amazing. We are even trying to have one more, and I'm excited. I hope for a little boy, but a girl would be cool, too," he said as my smile grew. I loved him.

"Daddddddy!" Rachel yelled as she ran past me. "I colored you a picture! Did mommy show you?" she asked as I walked into the room more. I handed him the picture and placed my hands on his shoulders as I kissed his cheek. It felt like the right thing to do.

"Ready to go home?" I asked him as he turned and smiled at me.

"Yeah…home."

So that was what we did. We went home, and I was pretty sure this was a new beginning for us.

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><p>Yeah they are on the right track now! Let me know what you think and I will see you in a couple days!<p> 


	22. Chapter 22

Here is the last chapter of this amazing story! My girls have been even more amazing with all the help and support that they have giving me. Sometimes I am not the easiest person to work with, but my girls are that amazing! Sometime I feel like I don't give them enough credit. Sally, Kasi, and Siobhan, I love you girls!

I own nothing but the plot!

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><p>Why was I in a fog? I didn't get it. There was no one around…it was so strange. I watched as the fog cleared and I saw Mike holding a baby. I stared, because Mike was dead, and yet he was right there in front of me. I continued to stare, waiting for him to disappear, but he didn't. Instead, he looked up at me and smiled; I smiled back at him. He was so beautiful. I missed him so much.<p>

"Babe, are you going to stand there all day and stare at me?" he asked with chuckle. He looked good; the way I remembered him. I walked slowly to him. I had a feeling that once I got to him, he would disappear. Once I reached him, I laid my head on his shoulder; he smelled exactly the same. "Isn't he handsome?" he asked, looking down at the baby in his arms.

"He is. I miss you," I said. I wanted to cry, but no tears came to my eyes.

"I watch over you every single minute of the day," he said as I felt him kiss the top of my head.

"I'm sorry for getting our family in such a mess," I told him as I heard him chuckle.

"You are doing exactly what is planned for you. Everything happens for a reason."

"Why Edward?"

"Because he can take care of my family. I chose him for you."

"Why?"

"Because I knew he would accept my kids and treat them as his own. He's a good man, and he will be with you for a long time," he said as I reached out and rubbed the baby's hand. "And it's okay for the kids to call him dad. I know you won't let my kids forget me."

"I love you, so, so much."

"I've loved you forever, Bella, and I always will," he said as he handed me the baby. "His name is Evan."

"I love that name," I said as I stroked Evan's cheek.

"He's yours," Mike replied, making me gasp.

"What?" I asked as I looked around. Mike was gone….

I sat up and gasped for air. My face was soaked with tears and I couldn't catch my breath. I could feel Edward awake by my side, and I could hear his voice, but I couldn't make out what he is saying to me. I quickly jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom. I ripped open the cupboard and grabbed the pregnancy test that I had bought a few days before. Without wasting any time, I sat on the toilet and peed on the little stick. I looked up and Edward was standing in the door way.

"Are you okay?" he asked as I finished my business. I didn't mean to ignore his question, but I had too much on my mind to answer him. By the time I had my hands washed, the test said I was pregnant.

"Wow," I whispered. "It was real."

"What was? Baby, you are scaring me. Your crying woke me up," he said as he walked to me.

"My dream...Mike was there, and he was holding Evan," I said as a smile crossed my face. My hands covered my face as a few more tears fell. I knew now that everything was going to be okay. I think I just needed to hear it from Mike.

"Who's Evan?" Edward asked as I looked to him. I gave him a teary eyed smile, and laid my head on his chest.

"Our son," I said as I felt his body stiffen. "I'm pregnant." Edward didn't say anything; he just held me. "Everything is going to be okay." I felt like the weight of the world had been lifted from my shoulders. Every ounce of stress I had been feeling, and every worry I had, was gone. I felt happy, and…free? I wasn't quite sure how I was feeling. I did know that I was going to have a happy life.

"We are having a baby?" Edward asked as I laughed.

"We are, and it's going to be a boy," I said, giving him the biggest smile I have given him in a long while.

"The stick tells you the sex of the baby, too?" he asked as I laughed. I wrapped my arms around his waist and I hugged him tight.

"I love you," I said as I felt his arms tighten around me.

"I love you, too, so much," he said, still holding me.

"Come on, let's go have sex," I said, linking our pinkies together as I guided him out of the bathroom.

"What?" he asked completely surprised.

"Sex. You know...where you put your very large cock into my very wet pussy," I explained as he stared at me like I had two heads.

"Are you okay?" he asked as I laughed a carefree laugh. I pulled my night shirt off and threw it on the floor. Edward watched me and groaned as I took my panties off. "Please don't play with me."

"But I would really like to play with you," I said as I watch his cock take form.

"Would you be pissed if I asked to keep you and not have my wife return?" he asked as he quickly lost his shorts.

"It's me, Edward," I said, swatting him as he hovered over me. "I'm not sorry for the way I acted when I found out about your family, because you deserved everything I gave you. It takes me a while to get over things," I said as he chuckled and kissed my forehead.

"I've noticed," he laughed.

"I just want to have a long and happy life with you."

"Bella…I don't know what to say."

"Say you want the same."

"I do! I fucking do, more than anything. I love you," he said as his mouth covered mine. His kiss was hungered, and I couldn't get enough of him. My hands were all over his body; I just needed to feel him. I needed him in a way that I hadn't since we were first married. His lips left a trail of goose bumps down my neck; he was making me feel so good. I loved him so much.

He rubbed his hand down the front of my body, and when he reached my stomach, he stopped. He leaned down and kissed my - for now - flat stomach. I smiled and ran my fingers through his hair. He raised his head and the smile on his face told me everything he was feeling. He was truly happy; we both were for the first time in a long time. This was what we needed. This was how I had wanted us to be. I knew we were on the mend.

"I'm sorry for everything. Thank you for loving me," he said as he placed soft kisses on my lips.

"You were brought into my life for a reason, and I have to believe that the reason was good. I fell for you so hard, and it was scary, but it was worth it," I said as he pushed my hair out of my face.

"I feel the same way baby. I feel the same way," he said as he slowly thrusted into me. "I won't hurt you, will I?"

"No," I said as I pulled his mouth to mine. Sex with him was always out of this world, but this time felt different. We were on the same page with our emotions, and that was exactly where we needed to be.

As the months went on, our lives fell into place. The kids were all in school, and they were doing great. We were all doing great. On the first day of school, Edward made sure he was home to see them get on the bus. I cried seeing Rachel leave, but she was so excited. She was a big girl now. Edward had a little bit of a freak out because Rach looked so small getting on the bus. He said that she should stay home. All I could do was laugh at him and hug him tight.

I was still leery when it came to the family, but hey, things took time. Once it was confirmed that we were having a boy, I knew my dream about Mike was true. I cried for what felt like days, just thinking of what Mike told me. This was meant to be, so I knew I had to chill and take things as they were thrown at me. A few minor problems occurred, but I did my best to not overreact. Edward was keeping us safe, and I knew that. I didn't think I would ever be okay with the whole mob thing, but that was my life now.

Edward had been great with managing his time being a father and a mobster. He had finally found his balance. He was very attentive. He helped out so much that I threatened to cut his nuts off if it stopped once Evan was born. We never agreed on naming him Evan; it just stuck from dream. I was happy when Edward respected my wishes to have my tubes tied. I had a feeling he would have fought me, but he didn't. Realistically, four children were going to be more than enough. Even all of the kids were excited about the baby for the most part. Rach had a few fits over him, but she warmed up to the idea. We did sell the house; we had too. I cried for hours when we left the house for good. Edward said we could build an addition on, but that just sounded like a big mess to me, and I couldn't really handle it.

Throughout the month, we seemed to have these moments where we would just stop what we were doing and stare at each other. This happened when something big happened. One of the times was when Edward and I went into school when they had career day for Mikey's class. I wasn't sure Edward was going to make it through the little speech he gave after Mikey introduced him to his class as his dad. It was one of our many milestones. Another one came the day before the baby arrived. We were in the living room, and Jake kept asking if I would go outside and help him ride his new two-wheeler bike. I could barely get my fat ass off the couch, let alone help him ride. I told him to go ask his dad just as Edward walked into the room. I had gasped at my own words and Edward's eyes grew large. I knew he was waiting for one of my many break downs. It was the first time ever that I didn't say Edward. I had never called Edward their dad, but it came naturally, like I didn't have to think about it.

That night, I went into labor and Edward was amazing: more than I could ask for. He kept calm, and he made sure we had everything ready to go. My mother came and stayed with us for the week I was due. We knew we didn't want to have to take the kids to a sitter before we headed to the hospital. Every night for two weeks, before we went to bed, Edward would make sure he had our clothes laid out, and everything he needed was in hands reach. It was hard for him to sleep a couple of the nights, because he just kept staring at me. I asked him if he wanted me to do a trick or something; he said no with a laugh. I knew he was nervous. He asked me at one point how I could be so calm. I told him something isn't that scary once you've done it a few times. The labor and delivery lasted for six hours. What spooked me was that the baby I saw in my dream was the baby I gave birth to. Having Evan was just one more thing that gave me hope that I was on the right path in my life. Edward cried when he held Evan for the first time; it was the most perfect moment.

Edward shocked the hell out of me when he told me what he wanted Evan's middle name to be. I thought he was joking, but he was so serious. He said that he wanted his middle name to be Newton. Yeah, I cried like a baby. Evan Newton Cullen was a little bit of a mouth full, but it tied him to his older siblings. I think it was Edward's way of making our family whole.

My family was complete, and I was loving life. I hated that I had to go through so much heartache to finally get to my happiness, but the end result was truly worth it. I was given the chance to spend years with Mike, and I loved him with all my heart. Not only did he give me three amazing children, but he was the best husband, to boot. I went through hell and back once he died, but that brought Edward into my life, and now…well, now I was truly happy.

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><p>The epi will be posted soon!<p> 


	23. Chapter 23

Five years later

Edward didn't come home last night, and he wasn't answering his phone. I was pissed, because, today was the first day of school, and he had never missed one before. I knew for a fact that he wanted to be here, because it was Evan's first day of school. I tried his cell again as I placed breakfast on the table, but it went straight to voice mail. I let out a frustrated groan and the kids all looked at me. When I told them to eat, they didn't question me.

Evan was very nervous for the first day of school, but Rachel said she would help him and there was nothing to be scared of. She was a very outstanding big sister. When we first brought Evan home, she asked when he was going back to the store. After a few weeks, she wanted to keep him. Well, until he would cry...but now they were best friends. Mikey…excuse me, Mike, as we all have to call him now, was the best big brother ever! He was so much like his father it was crazy. He helped them with their homework, played with the younger kids, and he was their protector. Jake was the wild child, and was always getting into trouble. I have asked him time and time again why he insisted on being bad, and all he would say is, 'I don't know'. Edward and I were called to the school at the end of last year because Jake started a fight. It was hard for Edward to keep himself in check, but he managed. Jake said the kid called him gay, and that wasn't cool.

"I warned him to keep his mouth shut," Jake said as Edward paced around the living room.

"Jacob, you can't go around fighting! Who cares if he calls you gay?" I asked as he rolled his eyes at me.

"Do NOT roll your eyes at your mother! I'm sick of being pulled out of work because you can't control yourself! You could have broken that boy's nose!" Edward yelled.

"Well, he wasn't just being mean to me, he was being mean to Cash and Lizzy, too!"

"And?" I asked. I didn't like my baby fighting.

"I'm sorry that you're mad, but I'm not going to say sorry for sticking up for my family," Jake said as Edward stared at him.

"I should spank your ass for this! Do you want to be home-schooled and never go to school again?" Edward asked as Jake shrunk in his seat. "If I get one more phone call from school this year, or any other year, you will lose everything. The only thing you will have in your room, will be a bed!"

"I get it," Jake said as he blushed in embarrassment. "How long am I grounded?"

"For the entire summer; now go to your room," Edward said as Jake pleaded with me with his eyes.

"You heard him," I said, holding my hands up in the air. I watched as tears filled his brown eyes, but I hoped he had learned his lesson.

Edward proved to be a worthy father of our children. Which brings me back to the point that I still couldn't get a hold of him. I was officially pissed. For the most part, I was over the whole mob thing. There were times when something would happen, and I would feel myself hating again, but I always managed to get over it quickly. In the last five years, nothing much had happened on the Mob front. The mob was like the military in a way. You didn't ask, and they didn't tell. I stuck with that piece of advice that Esme had given me. The less I knew, the better protected I was. Alice was right, nothing too horrible ever happened. Emmett was shot…again. I was scared to death while Rose was bored to death. We found out that Carlisle was the one that shot him. They were just shooting for practice and Emmett got in the way. I didn't know how someone could be so stupid. That was about the most horrible thing to happen, thankfully.

The bus came and went, and Edward never showed. I was fuming pissed. I took the annual video, but I hated that he wasn't here to see it for himself. I knew Evan was sad, but he didn't say anything. Evan wasn't really a big talker at all. I thought there was something wrong with him at first, but he told us he just had nothing to say. He was his father's mini-me. They were two of the same. Edward started talking about teaching the boys how to shoot, but I only allowed him to teach Mike for now. Jake and Evan were too little. Teaching a child to shoot could be a very stupid thing, but in the life we lived it wasn't unheard of. Cash was already learning, but I just couldn't let Jake. Jacob was hot headed as it was, and adding a gun to the mix wouldn't be smart.

I cleaned the house while I worried about Edward. When I heard the phone right, I checked the caller id; it read 'unknown'. I picked up the phone and said hello.

"You have a collect call from…Edward," I heard his voice say. Why was he calling collect? "Do you accept the charges?"

"Yes," I said as my heart started to race.

"Hey, baby," he said as I rolled my eyes.

"You have some pissed off kids! Why weren't you here? And why the fuck are you calling me collect? Where is your cell?" I asked, firing off questions.

"I'm sorry. We can talk about this all later. Can you come get me?" he asked.

"Where's your car?" I questioned as everything went quiet. "Are you there?"

"Yes, are you coming to get me?"

"Where are you?"

"Um…you have to stop by my parents' first."

"Why?" I asked, wanting to reach through the phone so I could choke him. I had a feeling of where he was.

"Because I'm in jail…" he said, letting his sentence trail off. I tried to speak, I really did, but no words would form on my tongue.

"What did you do?" I yelled, finally finding my voice.

"Just get here. My dad has the bail money."

"Why didn't you just call him to come get you?" I asked, letting my anger show.

"I did…he won't do it."

"Why?"

"I've been here all night because I knew you were going to be pissed."

"I fucking hate you!" I said for the first time in years. He knew I didn't mean it, but that was the only thing I could say that would affect his stupid ass. I hung up the phone before he could say anything else. Being the vindictive bitch that I was, I waited two hours before I left to get him. I'm sure he wasn't upset about it, since he was scared of me and all.

"Give him hell," Carlisle said as he handed me the bail money. There was a lot of cash there, and I had to ask.

"How much is in here?"

"Five grand," Esme said with a laugh. "He called here about midnight, asking us out to bail him out. When did he call you?"

"A couple of hours ago," I said as they both laughed.

"Welcome to the family," Carlisle said as I laughed, shaking my head at him. That was the first time he had ever said that I was part of the family. I was sure I would bail Edward's stupid ass out of jail more than once, but that didn't mean I couldn't be pissed every time. His parents were evil for making him call me, but they knew that Edward hated to ask me to do anything to help the mob. In a way, I guess this was my initiation into the family.

I arrived at the police station and paid the bail. I sat on a bench and waited for him to make his appearance. Part of me thought that he would go out the back door, but after a half hour, he graced me with his presence. As soon as I saw him, I headed for the car. He drove home, but I didn't say a word to him. There was really nothing I could say. I wanted to know why he was in jail, but another part of me didn't care. I knew he wanted to talk about it, but he knew there was nothing he could say to make all of this better.

Once we were home, he went and showered. I figured he was hungry, so I heated up some beef stew from the night before. He looked shocked when I told him the food was for him. He ate quickly and then had seconds. We needed to talk, but I really didn't want to fight. I knew that whatever he said was going to piss me off.

"I'm sorry," he said simply.

"I don't wanna know," I said as we sat on the couch. "The only thing that would make this better, would be knowing you were someone's bitch while you were in there."

"Haha, very funny. I was in there because some cop saw me punch this dude in the face. It would have been worse if Jasper wasn't there to take my gun," he said as if it was no big deal.

"The guy pressed charges?"

"Yeah, but Emmett will get him to change his mind."

"Awesome," I said with no enthusiasm. "Although, I think this could work to our advantage," I said as confusion formed on his face. "You have to tell Jake that you went to jail for punching someone."

"No fucking way!"

"He needs to know, and it will show him that you can be put in jail for it."

"NO! I'm not telling him. I'll look like a hypocrite."

"Fine, I'll tell him."

"The fuck you will. Bella, come on!"

"We punish the kids for fighting, so it is only right that you be punished as well," I said as Edward huffed and crossed his arms. Evan did the same thing when he was in trouble.

That night, Edward sat down with all the kids and told them kind of what happened. Jake looked like he was going to piss his pants. I was certain now that Jacob was going to keep himself in check. I had to laugh when Rach said she was disappointed in him. I know it truly bothered Edward to hear his little girl say such a thing. To me, it seemed that everyone had learned some sort of lesson. Jake and Edward learned that they needed to keep their tempers in check. Mike learned that guys really never grow up, and Evan said that his daddy was cool. I still had to work on him. Rachel said she learned never to get married. She was too much like me.

I loved having our little family meetings. We held them once a week, sometimes. We would just talk about what was going on in everyone's life. It made me feel good knowing that my kids could talk to me. In this life, you needed to make sure everyone was safe.

This was my crazy life, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

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><p>Thank you all so much for reading this story! I have loved all the reviews you have giving me. There will be no sequel. I do have a couple of ideas of future takes, but I'm not sure when I will have to write them out.<p>

Thanks to toocute24, teamalltwilight, and Siobhan for all the help they have giving me along the way!

I will be posting a new daddykink story on the 16th, so put me on alert if that is your thing! Siobhan and I are in the process of writing a new story and that will be posted in June sometime.

The best place to find me is on facebook and there is a link on my profile. We have story recs, I give you sneak peeks at what I'm working, and just fun conversations.


	24. outtake!

OUTTAKE!

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><p>Rachel's POV<p>

"Cash, stop bouncing the bed," I said as I tried to hurry to apply my makeup.

"You weren't complaining earlier," he said, wiggling his eyebrows at me. I hated when I tried to be mad at him he would make me laugh. "Why do you wear so much makeup?"

"Because I like makeup."

"You don't need it," he said smoothly as he leaned in to kiss my lips. I loved Cash so much. He and I have an odd love-hate relationship. My mom said that's how it has always been between us. He was my best friend.

"I love you," I said with a smile.

"I love you more, Princess. Now let's go before your father hurts me." I get up with a laugh and we head out the house.

Jacob was graduating high school, and the whole family was going to be there. I have no clue how he pulled it off, although I'm pretty sure my dad paid the school off. He even graduated with honors! My dad and Jake have been in many fights; Jake was hard to handle. One night, when Jake was sixteen, I saw my dad really lose his temper. It was the last big fight they ever had. Jake just pushed Dad too far. I remembered being so scared. I knew my dad was in the mob - Cash explained it to me - but that night, I saw the mobster that was my father. I was glad Cash was with me that night; I really needed him. Cash was amazing in stressful situations.

Cash and I were snuggled on the couch studying, when we heard car doors slamming. My mom came running down the hall to see what was going on. I sat up into Cash's lap and waited for the show to begin. Jake and Dad always fought, but I had never seen Dad give out anything more than a spanking.

"That was the stupidest thing you could have ever done! You are going to end up in a jail cell, and there will be nothing I can do to help!" Dad yelled as Mom stood between them.

"I wonder what he did?" I whispered as I kissed Cash's earlobe. He quickly kissed me and I giggled.

"I don't want your fucking help! I didn't even do anything!" Jake yelled in Dad's face.

"What happened?" Mom asked as Dad laughed.

"For starters, he's suspended for a week. And for what? Drum roll please…fighting! Then the principal said Jacob looked high, so they had him searched. Guess what they found?" Dad asked, scary as hell.

"Drugs?" my mom asked, surprisingly not sounding shocked. "Jake, what is wrong with you?"

"It was only a little pot," Jake said.

"Jacob, you're better than this," mom said. Jake laughed in mom's face.

"You are one to talk," he said to mom with another laugh. "You were the stupid one who brought us into this life. If it wasn't for you, I would have gotten into half the fights. I'm not going to sit back and let people talk shit about my family! About my little sister or brothers!"

"What are they saying?" Mom asked.

"Oh, where the fuck do I begin!"

"Watch your mouth!" Dad yelled.

"You're not my father, so stop acting like it!" Jake yelled. I saw Dad clench his fits. Jake knew how to get under his skin.

"Jake, what are people saying?" Mom asked again. This time she sounded mad.

"Lizzie told Sarah that she and I are going to get married right after graduation, so now everyone thinks we're kissing cousins. Then Cash and Rachel can't keep their hands off of each other, making everything worse! I'm sick of high school, so I smoke a little pot. Big deal! I'm doing everything that is 'expected' of me! You are just lucky that for some reason, I love Lizzy! I doubt we will stick around after graduation," he said as Mom started crying. That pissed Dad off, and he grabbed Jacob by the throat and slammed him into the wall.

"You have had a good life, so don't you dare throw anything in your mother's face! There is a lot you kids don't know! Things I know none of you remember! If your mother had a choice, she would have divorced me a month after we were married! I tricked her into marriage, and she did what she had to do to keep you and your siblings safe!" Dad yelled as Jake turned blue.

"Dad! Let go!" I said, jumping up off of Cash. Dad let go and Jake fell to the floor.

"All of you listen to me and listen good!" Dad started to say.

"Wait…this is why no one has ever said anything about Cash and I being together? I have to marry him, don't I?" I asked as Cashed ran his finger through his hair. It really was weird when you were told who you were going to marry.

"Rachel…yeah, you will have to marry Cash," Mom said, wiping her tears away. "I'm so sorry."

"I'm going to stay at Lizzie's," Jake said, heading for the door.

"No! Go to your room!" Dad yelled, pulling at his hair. "I want your car keys and wallet." Jacob whipped his keys at dad, and he threw his wallet on the floor.

"I hate you both." Hearing Jake say that to our parents, made me break down. Just then, Evan came home. Mom and I were crying, Dad was going through Jake's wallet, and Cash was comforting me.

"What did Jake do now?" Evan asked, jumping up on the kitchen counter and eating some chips.

"Don't worry about it," Dad said as he calmed down.

"Must have been bad if he got both of them crying," he said nonchalantly.

That was Evan; nothing fazed him. He was almost cold toward everyone. He still is. The only time I see him have any feelings, is when he is with his girlfriend. She's an outsider, but we all knew the relationship wouldn't last. I guess Evan was just like my dad, and would wait till the last minute to be married if he joined the family. He was said to marry Liam's daughter, who was the same age as Evan, and when they met, Evan said no, but we all know he will marry her one day. With the arranged marriages, we were usually married right after high school, so we still have to wait and to see what will happen.

That night, we had a family meeting, and that's where we all found out about the mob and how our parents met. They didn't think we knew, but we did. I knew Edward wasn't my biological father, but he was my dad. Dad made Cash leave, and I called him crying after the meeting. Their story was heartbreaking, and I would have never thought that. My parents really loved each other. I would hear them once in a while fighting, but they always got over it. My mom was a bitch, but I loved that about her. My dad said that I was too much like her, and that Cash had another thing coming, but we grew up together, so he knew what he was getting.

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><p>EPOV<p>

Bella took Evan to baseball practice, and I was staying home, being in the funk mood that I was in. Jacob was the biggest pain in the ass, and that was saying something when I dealt with shitheads every day. It was always something with him, and I didn't know what to do. I knew he was going through the whole faze of 'you're not my father'. He pushed me too far, though. I hated the way he talked to his mother. I hated putting my hands on him. I hated that my little girl saw me get so mad. I hated having a family meeting and telling them all about how Bella and I met. Mike knew the whole story, but he was a good kid. He came too, and asked about what he couldn't remember. After the meeting, Mike went out, Rach went to her room to talk on the phone, and Jacob was in his room. I was lying in my bed watching TV. I just needed to chill after everything that had go on.

"Hey," Jake said from the doorway. "Is Mom back yet?"

"No, probably another thirty minutes or so," I told him not taking my eyes off the TV.

"Oh, is she bringing home dinner?"

"Yeah."

"What are you watching?" he asked as he made his way into the room.

"Orange County Choppers," I said as he sat on Bella's side of the bed.

"I love this show."

"I know you do," I said as he sighed. I knew what was coming.

"I'm sorry," he said, not looking at me. "I'm just sick of hearing people talking shit about us. Ya know you need to have a talk with Rachel, and tell her that she needs to keep her mouth shut. She trusts too easily."

"I'll talk to her tomorrow," I said. I was glad he was telling me this; I didn't know. "You need to stop fighting; I'm not bailing you out anymore."

"Okay," he said with a sigh. "Were you madder about the fighting, or the weed?"

"Jake, I love you and you are my son, but fuck! I don't want you doing drugs. I thought you were smarter than that. But, to answer your question, it was the fighting and the way you talked to your mother."

"So, you don't care if I smoke?"

"Jacob…don't bring it to school, and keep to a weekend thing. Tell your mother I said that, and I will floor you," I said as he laughed.

"Dad, I am sorry," he said looking at me.

"I love you," I said as he rolled his eyes at me.

"Love you, too," he said, shaking his head at me. We were quiet for a while before Jake started to talk again. "I really want one," he said, talking about a chopper.

"Make you a deal," I said as I faced him. "Go the rest of your high school career without fighting, and you graduate with honors, and I will buy you one."

"Dad, don't fuck with me!"

"I'm not," I said as I saw the little boy I first met.

"Oh my god! You have a deal! Dad, I won't let you down! I'm going to go do my homework," he said as he jumped out of bed. "Wait, can Lizzie come over to help me? I'll keep the door open, I swear."

"Sure, and if she needs a ride, I'll call your mother," I said as he ran down the hall.

The rest of the night went smoothly. I had my happy family again. I smiled when Jake hugged Bella and told her he was sorry. Of course, Bella being Bella, she had to state her feelings, and Jake stood there without saying a word. I was hoping he would be a little happier now.

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><p>Rachel's POV<p>

Cash raced to the high school, making it there on time. We walked hand-in-hand until we found the family. I was excited for my life after high school. I watched as Mikey married Emma. I found it weird that they weren't in love by the time they were married, though. They were friends, but at one point, neither one of them wanted to be married. He was home one night, and he and Dad had gotten into an argument, which they never did. They never really raised their voices at each other, so I never heard what was said. This was when dad said I was most like Mom, because that night, I went into Mikey's room to be nosy about what had happened. I remembered walking in and sitting on his bed. He was texting as he tried to ignore me.

"Are you okay?" I asked as he rolled his eyes.

"I'm fine, Rach," he said laying his head back.

"You and Dad never fight," I stated as he nodded his head.

"Edward and I have always had an open relationship, but…you're too young, you won't understand," he said as I looked to my hands.

"I'm not stupid, Mikey. I know you and Emma don't want to get married," I said as he huffed.

"Ya know how Mom said we never have to do anything we don't want to?" he asked as I nodded. "Well, this is one of the things we have to do no matter what."

"Are you going to join the family?" I asked. We all knew Evan would, and maybe Jake, but Mikey never said either way.

"I don't know, but I need to figure this out; Grandpa wants an answer."

"What's Dad say?"

"He told me to go to college and stay out of it, but either way, I have to marry Em," he said.

"What's Grandpa say?"

"Rach, you're too young for me to talk to you about this with you," he said as I rolled my eyes.

"Come on! Cash has told a bunch of stuff. Jasper told him he was joining no matter what," I said as Mikey's eyes grew.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. He called me crying one night…don't tell him I told you that."

"You know me better than that."

"I know, but he said he felt like a pussy for crying over it," I said as he laughed. "He said it was his duty as the oldest to join. He doesn't care per say, but he doesn't want to be told what to do."

"That's what Edward told me, about the whole oldest thing, but it's different for me. We were never adopted, so it is strictly our choice. With Evan, I think Dad would push more," he told me.

"Evan already said he's in."

"He's too young to understand what it is really. Hell, I don't even know what it is. Just don't worry about it," he said smiling at me.

"Why don't you go out on a date with Emma?"

"Why?"

"Because it would show you were trying. You never know, you may like her," I said as I got up to leave. Mikey didn't say anything else to me, but he did go out on a date with her the following Friday.

Cash and I sat in front of my parents and our grandparents. Grandpa kept saying how happy he was to see that Cash and I were so in love. It made me laugh for the fact that we were only sixteen and seventeen, but hey, whatever made the old man happy. I can't remember a time where Cash wasn't in my life, and I wanted it to stay that way. The graduation dragged on for what seemed liked hours. I lay my head on Cash's shoulder, and he played with my hair. At one point, I heard Alice say 'awe', and I laughed.

Cash has always been my best friend, and when I was thirteen, and he was fourteen, we knew there was something more between us. I had a very embarrassing conversation with my mom, and she said it was perfectly fine if we wanted to date. Jasper told Cash the same thing, so we started dating. Dating for us consisted of going to the movies and hanging out at each other's houses. We were easy, but the other boys didn't have it so easy. Like I said before, Mikey and Emma didn't want to be married, but they are now, and he did join the family. They seem to love each other, but I have yet to ask him about it. I don't get to see him very often, because he works in Oregon for one of the thousand businesses that the family owns. Jake and Lizzie were always together, but he was never nice to her. When they turned sixteen, they started to date, and they would be married soon after graduation.

Following the graduation, we headed over to the grandparent's house for a party. We had great food, and an overall great time. Important days always made mom sad. I knew she still missed my father. She never let us forget him. Every year, we went to Forks to visit him. Mom and Mikey took it the hardest when we went, but sometimes I felt bad when I couldn't give any emotion. Both my parents said it was okay, since I had never known him, but I still felt guilty. I know mom truly loved my father.

Dad said he had something to show everyone, so we followed. He went to the garage, and Jacob was bouncing with excitement. He looked like a little kid. Lizzie was laughing at Jake every time he would hug her. Before we found out what Dad had to show, we were all excited.

"Jacob and I have never seen eye-to-eye, but we had an understanding. A couple of years ago, we made a deal, and he held up his end of it. I can honestly say that I was shocked when I realized I had to hold up my end. Jake, your mother and I love you very much, and we are very proud of you," Dad said as he lifted the garage door.

My jaw hit the floor when I saw a motorcycle. Not just any motorcycle, but an Orange County Chopper! It was amazing. I was so jealous! The theme of the bike was video games. There were no words I could use to describe it. The handle bars were controllers, and seat was an old Xbox. It was just the coolest thing ever! Jake grabbed a hold of Dad and picked him up off his feet, hugging him. He spun Mom around, and she started telling him that he needed to be safe. Jake just laughed at her.

"I won't go far, but I'm so taking this for a spin," Jake said, helping Lizzie with her helmet. He started up the bike and I broke out with cold chills at the sound of the motor.

"Daddy?" I said, looking up at my father. He raised his eyebrow at me and I kept talking. "I really want one!" I said, jumping up and down. "Please!"

"I don't know," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Come on! Please, Dad, please," I begged as I watched Jake ride away. I was so jealous.

"We'll talk about it later," he said. I knew I would get one; I was his princess, and he hated to tell me no.

Everything seemed to work out for our family. We were happy. It's still hard for me to wrap my head around the way we became part of this family, but I'm so happy we did.

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><p>Okay I'm pretty sure that is all I am going to be posting! I hope you enjoyed it.<p> 


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